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Weston Rep. Shaban Slams Malloy's Decision To Cut Hospital Funding

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. - State Rep. John Shaban of Weston and other Connecticut Republicans are slamming Gov. Dannel Malloy's recent funding cuts, of which $63 million they say will impact Connecticut hospitals and health care.

Republican State Rep. John Sheban asks for special budget session to decrease spending and restore funds to Connecticut's hospitals.

Republican State Rep. John Sheban asks for special budget session to decrease spending and restore funds to Connecticut's hospitals.

Photo Credit: File

In June, the Legislature held a special session to revisit both the Democrats' new taxes on employers and their proposed cuts to Connecticut hospitals.

While the Democrats refused to cut spending or repeal their latest tax hikes, they did agree to rescind most of the hospital cuts, Shaban said in a press release.

Last month, however, Malloy decided to put the hospital cuts back into the budget under his limited authority to make adjustments in times of fiscal crisis.

Shaban (R-135) and other House and Senate Republicans have publicly called for a second special budget session to decrease spending and restore funds to Connecticut's hospitals. Shaban represents Easton, Redding and Weston.

"These funding cuts derive from Connecticut's unique 'hospital tax' where under the state taxes hospital profits, and then redistributes these monies back to the hospitals, which in turn increases our federal Medicaid reimbursement funds that are ultimately managed by the state," Shaban said.

"The recent Democratic budgets, however, have increased spending year after year, and now simply keep the hospital tax money rather than redistributing it, making it a pure tax with no benefit to the hospitals and no federal reimbursement to our state."

Malloy now seeks to keep another $63.4 million of the hospital tax, which will in turn negate any corresponding Medicaid reimbursement and create a net increase to our hospitals' state tax liability of over $267 million this fiscal year and almost $500 million annually going forward, Shaban said.

The Small Hospital Grant has also been eliminated for the remaining nine months of this fiscal year. 

"We need to stop our government's continuing assault on hospital funding" Shaban stated. "It is shameful to pass measures to address mental health issues and healthcare for the poor one day, only to cut the funding later to pay for Hartford's reckless spending habits."

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