For-profit hospitals in Conn. could face additional regulations

Connecticut lawmakers held a hearing this week regarding two bills that would put additional requirements on nonprofit hospitals that want to transition to for-profit status, CTnow reported. Supporters of Senate Bill 460 and House Bill 5571 said more for-profit hospitals will mean organizations will care more about stakeholders than patients in the community, and the proposed legislation would protect employees and healthcare quality. Opponents argue that the bills create unnecessary difficulties in creating partnerships, which are essential for many hospitals' survival. Companies such as Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp., can help smaller hospitals enhance their healthcare services by using its capital to make the hospitals financially stable and "drive down costs by achieving uncommon economies of scale," Gayle Capozzalo, executive vice president and chief strategy officer of Yale-New Haven Health System in Connecticut, testified. Article