DKH aid 

disappears

again

PUTNAM — Just three months after community members and local legislators successfully fought to avoid $12 million in cuts to Day Kimball Healthcare (DKH) included in Governor Malloy’s proposed 2016-17 biennial state budget, northeastern Connecticut’s major health care provider and largest employer is now facing similar cuts once again.

DKH is set to lose $4.2 million over the next nine months as a result of the state budget cuts recently announced by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, and as much as $11 million over the next two years if the cuts carry through to 2017.

Day Kimball Healthcare President and CEO Robert Smanik said such losses would force DKH to make significant cuts to services and staffing. Hospitals across the state are facing similar circumstances and are calling on legislators to convene a special session of the General Assembly to restore the funds.

“If these funds are not restored the effect will be disastrous for the physical and economic health of northeast Connecticut,” Smanik said. “I’m shocked that the governor has rescinded funds that are so critical to the health and economy of our region and dismayed that he would do so after our legislators worked so hard to secure the funds in a budget that was approved and enacted just three months ago.”

Smanik said that the support DKH received from Senator Mae Flexer and local representatives during the initial budget negotiations in the spring remains. “I’ve been in touch with Senator Flexer and our representatives, and they are supportive of calling a special session to get these cuts reversed,” Smanik said.  

The Governor’s office announced last Friday $103 million in total cuts to the state’s biennial 2016-17 budget, with Medicaid payments to hospitals making up the largest single cut at $63.4 million. The Medicaid cuts eliminate all of the supplemental and small hospital payments due to hospitals from October 1 of this year through June of 2016, when the state’s current fiscal year ends.

Statewide, that $63.4 million cut actually translates to nearly $192 million in lost funding for Connecticut’s hospitals over the next nine months. That’s because eliminating the supplemental hospital appropriation means the state also loses out on matching federal dollars for Medicaid.

For Day Kimball, the cuts mean the organization must now plan for a $5.6 million loss in funding for its 2016 fiscal year, which begins October 1 and runs through September, 2016. That budget was already projected to have an operating loss as a result of cuts enacted in the state’s 2014-15 budget.

“Because our fiscal year extends three months past the end of the state’s fiscal year next June, we have to assume in our planning that those cuts will be carried through to 2017, which would total $5.6 million,” Smanik said.

 “And if the cuts are carried forward, we’ll be looking at the same loss for our fiscal year 2017,” Smanik continued, “which would amount to an $11 million dollar cut in our funding from the state’s biennium budget. That’s more than three times greater than the cuts DKH received in the state’s 2014-2015 budget, which has already caused us to have an operating loss despite cutting $6 million in expenses.”

The sudden and sharp decline in state funding and resultant budget woes are not unique to Day Kimball and are closely tied to rapid changes in how the state has taxed and provided Medicaid funding to hospitals over just the last four years.

The supplemental hospital appropriation is a mechanism whereby the state returns a portion of a provider tax paid by hospitals. This tax was put into place in 2011 and allowed Connecticut to qualify for higher matching Medicaid funds from the federal government.

The provider tax generates additional revenue for the state, which then allowed the state to provide additional Medicaid funding to hospitals and therefore to qualify for higher matching Medicaid funding from the federal government. Those funds are then redistributed back to hospitals in the form of the supplemental appropriation, essentially paying hospitals back for the provider tax in the form of additional Medicaid funding.

At the end of this cycle, the goal is to provide hospitals with additional funding to care for the state’s most vulnerable residents – those enrolled in Medicaid. That funding is essential to helping hospitals defray the cost of providing care to patients covered by Medicaid, because Medicaid reimbursement rates don’t come close to covering the actual cost of providing care. Statewide, 20% of patients are covered by Medicaid. The patient mix is similar for Day Kimball, but with a higher Medicaid patient mix in pediatrics (50%) and OB/GYN (40%).

What has happened is that the state has continually decreased the amount of the supplemental appropriation and now eliminated it completely, which eliminates the matching federal funding as well. Meanwhile the provider tax remains. This has created a triple-whammy for hospitals who must nevertheless continue to provide care, and are left trying to balance budgets with a hefty amount of funding that was promised to them now taken away.

 The state’s 2016-17 budget also set aside the small hospital appropriation, a pool of money to provide additional funding to small community hospitals that serve a higher proportion of Medicare and Medicaid patients (and so are disproportionately affected by cuts to the supplemental appropriation and sub-cost Medicaid reimbursement rates). To qualify for the small hospital pool, hospitals must also have demonstrated high-quality patient care and low cost. Day Kimball Hospital was one of six small community hospitals in the state to receive additional funding through this pool. This funding has now also been eliminated.

 “In a fight for our lives,” Day Kimball joins hospitals around the state in calling for funding to be restored.

“Once again, as we were when the Governor announced his originally proposed budget last spring, Day Kimball is in a fight for our lives and for the livelihood of Northeast Connecticut,” Smanik said.

If the cuts are not reversed, Smanik summed up the dire consequences it will have for the region by saying, “In the 13 towns we serve, 72,000 out of the 93,000 residents use our services. We are the largest employer in the region with more than 1,300 employees, 82% of whom live in Northeast Connecticut. We employ 50 of the area’s physicians, with more than another 250 on our medical staff. Whether you’re a patient, a family member of a patient, a resident, a business owner or an employee of Day Kimball, these cuts will affect you.”

 He continued, “I am hopeful that the efforts of our local legislators and others from around the state will be successful in convening a special session to review this decision and to restore these essential funds.”

 

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PUTNAM — After five exciting evenings of art in the 20 century, First Fridays arrives at the dawn of the digital age in the 21st century. With this final evening of the 2015 season, the October 2nd event will celebrate the major shift toward computer-generated art – a medium that has changed the way fine art, film, and music are created and consumed. Speaking of consumed… for the second year in a row, the October event will feature the First Fridays Zombie Fashion Show. All of this, combined with dozens of art vendors, gallery openings, and live performances will make it an evening to remember.

With a focus on the impact of digital photography and social media, the Community Arts table will feature a digital photo shoot. Patrons of all ages can pose in front of a variety of backgrounds and have their photo uploaded on the Discover Putnam Facebook page. In addition, the Amazing Taylors will be creating movie magic, using their handmade puppets, with an interactive stop motion movie production. Once created, the movie will play on a loop throughout the evening.

October’s event will also feature the talented bother/sister duo VulGarrity as the headlining band. VulGarrity utilizes technology to enhance their live performances with the use of loop pedals, which allows them to play drums, guitar, bass and keys all at once, in addition to executing vocal harmonies. As well, the duo switches instruments during their live performances, often during the same song without missing a beat. Look for VulGarrity on Main Street throughout the evening. Rounding out the live music scheduled for the October event, the Junkyard Heartstrings, an acoustic duo based in Eastern Connecticut, will play from 6:30-8:30 pm in Union Square. This husband and wife team performs songs from the ’60s to the present in a variety of genres. 

The entertainment for Oct. 2 is not just limited to live music. Back from the dead, the Zombie Fashion show returns to bring out legions of ghoulishly dressed participants. The zombie genre of film and television has always celebrated the artistry of how special effects – both man-made and digital – can transform the human form to something truly terrifying. With this in mind, all ages are invited to come out in their undead-best and register to walk in the 2nd Annual Zombie Fashion show. Last year’s event saw over 30 zombies walk the runway for prizes. For 2015, the event will feature three categories: Youth, Group/Family, and Adult, with prizes awarded to the top three in each category. For those interested in registering, send a private message to facebook.com/discoverputnam, or head over to the Putnam Business Association booth at the festival before 7:15 pm the evening of the event. Visitors are also encouraged to look out for zombie and monster makeup demonstrations.

First Fridays is all about celebrating art, and the Oct. 2 event will feature approximately 40 arts and crafts vendors lining Main Street and Union Square. There will also be a variety of gallery and studio openings during the evening. Patrons are encouraged to visit the downtown shops, galleries and eateries during the festival. The October event will also be the last opportunity to catch an Art Attack – the signature surprise act of art that is produced by the Putnam Arts Council.

 

 

Vine Takeover

This sweet potato vine took over the basket on the bike in front of the Pomfret Town Hall. Linda Lemmon photo.