Along I-84 West as cars make their way to West Hartford, you can't miss the billboard paid for by Bristol Hospital that tells people to reach out to Gov. Dannel Malloy to tell him not to hurt hospitals.
Gov. Malloy announced cuts of more than $60 million to state hospitals that he says were due to lower than expected investment returns on Wall Street.
Bristol Hospital took a cut of more than $5 million which the CEO says threatens the very mission of the hospital.
“When you think about it, not all hospitals are equal when it comes to the cost structure" said Kurt Barwis, the Bristol Hospital President & CEO.
Barwis says the $5.9 million cut to his hospital in reality is closer to $10 million over a two year period when increased taxes and other reductions are added to the equation.
He says his hospital and others like it that serve smaller populations could be at risk of closure if the cuts aren't reduced soon.
“I’ve got two years to grow over these cuts, someway, somehow with the strength of my medical staff and my organization. Two years. If I don’t do that, I will run out of cash.”
Gov. Malloy doesn't have empathy for hospitals which he says have taken in more than $900 million in profits over the last year, which he says was an increase from 2014 of nearly $200 million.
He said Wednesday, “I’m sure everybody in Connecticut wishes they were in an industry that’s seen profits of , five, six, and six plus percent in the last three years. Everybody wants Connecticut live within its means and that’s what I’m trying to get to.”
The Connecticut Hospital Association revealed its version of the governor's statistics and says when certain payments from the state are examined, hospitals took in about half the figure the governor claims.
The statement from CHA says, "The Governor has significantly stepped up his gouging of the sick and hospitals that take care of them."
Barwis with Bristol Hospital says the group perhaps most at risk is Medicaid recipients who cost hospitals the most in many cases to treat, while getting reimbursed from the state and federal government at the lowest rates.
He says those low-income patients could be the ones who find themselves will difficulty finding access to a doctor who will see them at a major medical facility.
“What would happen is we wouldn’t see as many. We would have to start to limit the access. We wouldn’t do as much" Barwis said.
“Our role, our responsibility is the health status of the community and we do whatever it takes to do that and so you start taking these payments away and all of a sudden, we have to start making hard choices.”
