In This Issue:



From Paddi's Desk

On The Marble

New Legislator Spotlight

Federal Focus

CT Agency Corner

This Day in CT History

This Week's News:

Lamont proposes loosening guardrails, boosting child care in $55.2B budget

Lamont allocates tens of millions of dollars for economic development agencies focused on multifamily development

The Sleeper Crisis: How Connecticut Can Save Healthcare by Supporting Independent Physicians

While Connecticut lawmakers in Hartford focus on fiscal guardrails, energy policy, and economic development, a silent but massive shift in healthcare is unfolding across the state. The rapid consolidation of hospitals, private equity takeovers of physician practices, and insurers expanding into direct care delivery are threatening access, affordability, and physician independence. This transformation is happening behind the scenes—until it directly affects your ability to get the care you need, when you need it, at a cost you can afford.

One of the most practical solutions Connecticut lawmakers can pursue is incentivizing employer contracting with physician-owned networks under a value-based care model. By encouraging businesses to contract directly with independent, physician-led organizations, the state can lower healthcare costs, improve outcomes, preserve patient choice, and prevent hospitals and insurers from monopolizing care.

Hospital Consolidation: Fewer Choices, Higher Costs

Connecticut’s hospital landscape has shifted dramatically, with just three dominant networks—Yale New Haven Health, Hartford HealthCare, and Nuvance Health. If pending acquisitions are approved, these three systems will control a significant portion of Connecticut’s patient population.

A study by the Connecticut Office of Health Strategy found that hospital mergers have contributed to “faster increases in healthcare prices and a greater focus on high-profit procedures, rather than essential community care.” (portal.ct.gov)

"Consolidation leads to higher prices and reduced competition," warned Martin Gaynor, an economist specializing in healthcare markets. "Patients ultimately pay more, not just in dollars, but in limited access to timely care." (healthaffairs.org).

Private Equity and Insurer-Owned Care: When Profits Drive Patient Care

Beyond hospitals, private equity firms have aggressively acquired physician practices, often prioritizing profit over patient care. Walgreens’ recent decision to sell its stake in Starling Physicians, one of Connecticut’s largest private practices, highlights the instability created by corporate ownership of medical care.

"Private equity firms do not run hospitals or clinics—they extract money from them," said Rosemary Batt, a Cornell University professor. "When they leave, they leave the system weaker." (npr.org). The recent struggles of Prospect Health and Waterbury Hospital further exemplify these concerns.

At the same time, insurers like Cigna are expanding into direct provider ownership, creating conflicts of interest where financial incentives dictate care decisions rather than patient needs.

"If an insurer owns the doctor’s office, they control referrals, pricing, and even what treatments are recommended and approved," said Dr. Robert Berenson, a health policy expert. "That’s a conflict of interest that can hurt patients."

Employer Contracting with Independent Physicians: A Sustainable Solution

With 50% of Connecticut residents receiving healthcare through employer-sponsored insurance, businesses have significant leverage to reshape healthcare contracting. The Connecticut legislature should empower employers to support independent physician-owned networks by making it easier for them to contract directly with physician-led networks focused on value-based care.

Wonder how employer direct contracting works?

Under this model, businesses negotiate directly with physician-led organizations, which are paid based on patient outcomes rather than service volume. These networks focus on:

• Preventing costly hospital visits by emphasizing early intervention and chronic disease management.
• Lowering healthcare costs by removing insurer middlemen and reducing administrative fees.
• Keeping care independent, ensuring patients have more choices outside of corporate-owned systems.

"Direct employer contracting with physician-led organizations creates a win-win: lower costs for businesses and better care for employees," said Dr. Farzad Mostashari, former National Coordinator for Health IT.

What Other States Are Doing?

States like North Carolina, Texas, and Washington have already piloted successful employer-physician direct contracting models, leading to:

• Cost savings of up to 20%.
• Fewer hospitalizations with better patient outcomes.
• Strengthened independent physician networks.

Connecticut should follow their lead by tailoring a model that supports local employers and physicians.

To jumpstart this effort, the Connecticut legislature could:

• Incentivize employers by offering tax credits for adopting value-based contracts with independent physician networks.
• Provide technical support to help employers transition to direct contracting models.
• Expand the state employee health plan to prioritize independent provider contracting.

Additionally, lawmakers should level the playing field for physician-owned networks by:

• Ensuring fair reimbursement rates for independent doctors.
• Preventing insurer-owned networks from forcing patients away from independent practices.
• Regulating hospital facility fees that artificially inflate costs for employer-based health plans.
• Reforming restrictive non-compete clauses that prevent doctors from leaving hospital-controlled networks.
• Simplifying contracting and payment models to make it easier for small physician groups to compete.

"When hospitals and insurers control the entire system, independent doctors struggle to compete," said Dr. Robert Berenson. "State policies must level the playing field so physician-led networks can thrive."

Now is the Time

The silent tsunami of healthcare consolidation is already reshaping Connecticut’s landscape. If the legislature does nothing, hospital networks, private equity, and insurer-owned clinics will dominate, leaving patients with fewer choices, higher bills, and longer wait times.



By refocusing efforts on patient-centered healthcare solutions and incentivizing employer contracting with independent physician networks, Connecticut can restore competition, lower healthcare costs, and preserve high-quality patient care. The time to act is now—before the last independent doctors disappear and corporate healthcare monopolies dictate the future of medicine in the state.

The Complex Math Problem of the State Budget

Solving state budgets before 2017 certainly weren’t easy, but it was simpler to follow the dollar.

Connecticut has a constitutional requirement to have a balanced budget each fiscal year (July 1 – June 30) meaning that the state cannot carry over deficits from one fiscal year to the next and operate. The state was in deficit every budget year from 2008-2017, and in each year the legislature and Governor decided if they had to cut programs, raise taxes, receive state employee union concessions, or introduce new fees.

The current budget, which is in SURPLUS with $4B in the budget reserve fund (otherwise known as the “rainy day” fund), is extraordinarily difficult to navigate with the spending and volatility cap constantly competing with each other for how much the state is allowed to spend. What makes this morning confusing is that the tax deadlines always add or lose new revenue to that number based on what’s collected. For example, if income tax and sales tax revenue increase dramatically, the spending and volatility caps do not allow that revenue to be dedicated to one time spending and must be either deposited into the rainy day fund or used to pay down pension obligations.

The legislature has expressed a desire to adjust the “fiscal guardrails” given the top priorities for each of the caucuses including identifying new funding for Medicaid rates, non-profit provider rates and helping the state college and university system keep their campuses open. Governor Lamont’s chief priority is to not sacrifice the guardrails. The fear being that once they are adjusted, every cycle could lead to another adjustment until the guardrails no longer exist. The obvious benefit of the guardrails is to utilize the “raining day” fund if revenue declines, which maintains the same levels of spending.

Governor Lamont’s budget address kept the optimistic tone that was set in his opening day speech but didn’t hold back on his strong belief that the guardrails are in place for a reason. Under Governor Malloy’s years, Democrats would adopt budgets that would sometimes be vetoed and would need to start the process virtually all over again. The elephant in the room this year is whether the Governor can’t compromise with the legislature and a budget is sent to his desk that he doesn’t like - will he veto it? Most odds makers would bet that the legislature and the Governor will find room to compromise before the end of the session, but never rule out the possibility that the budget gets approved late into the first week of June.

This week, we sat down with Representative Patrick Biggins, a dedicated legislator who shares his unique perspective on serving his community and navigating the challenges of the State Capitol. Reflecting on his journey into politics, his approach to leadership, and his personal interests outside of work, Representative Biggins offers a candid look into what drives him both professionally and personally.

Representative Patrick Biggins

District 11

What inspired you to pursue a career as a legislator?

Patrick Biggins: “I wouldn’t say that I pursued a career as a legislator, I was serving my community and then there was an opportunity to serve my community in a different capacity. I would say I happened into this role rather than pursued.”

Is there something you previously thought about the State Capitol that changed when you took office?

Patrick Biggins: “I didn’t know how much work it is and how difficult it is to get some things done. It’s the process of figuring that out and figuring out how to make the moves to meet with the right people and try to make it happen.”

Who are some of your role models or people who have influenced your approach to leadership?

Patrick Biggins: “My family has always inspired me and has developed me into the person I am now. In my current role, Jeff Currey has been a huge asset to me, a leader for our community. We also have a great leadership team.”

What are some of your interests or hobbies outside of politics?

Patrick Biggins: “I am a basketball guy, I like to play basketball and watch basketball but I am more of a Celtics fan. I love UConn, but if I’m being honest, I am not watching all their games, I love to watch the Celtics. I am a big basketball player, am I good? … No, but I like to play. When it gets to summertime, I like to golf, also just parenting and being around my house.”

What do you want people to know about you as a legislator?

Patrick Biggins: “I want people to take away that I care, that’s the biggest part for me. I care about what we are voting on and the people that it is going to affect.”

Elephant in the Room

On Wednesday, the Governor presented his FY 2026-27 biennial budget. Hundreds of pages of agency descriptions and line items led to this address as the legislature slogs through the long session. This holy day for budget wonks in Connecticut always comes with a lot of uncertainty and anxiety for stakeholders of every kind. Rather than weed through those who may be happy with this budget (e.g., –early childcare stakeholders, housing advocates, or tax cut supports, or focus on who may be upset with this budget (e.g., healthcare leaders, nonprofits, Connecticut’s state colleges), our focus today will be on the next few months of federal uncertainty. We constantly highlight the deep connection between the federal budget process and Connecticut’s budget timeline. With so much uncertainty coming from Washington in terms of potential funding cuts to our state, the Governor had a tough task and he was not sheepish in his disdain for President Trump’s budget cuts during his address saying, “We have no idea how the feds will impact Medicaid costs, because the DOGE commission in Washington may root out fraud (and that’s good) or simply cost shift Medicaid expenses to the states (and that’s bad). If all they do is cost shift, DOGE is just a dodge, which could cost our state hundreds of millions of dollars. Time will tell.”

We have jumped into potential cuts from the feds during their first month: nonprofit support, USAID, and a litany of spending adjustment suggestions that would punish our state. But as the Governor mentioned, time will tell and what he means there is that the uncertainty coming out of the administration for what’s next on the chopping block makes our budget process that much more uncertain. What are we hearing from the feds? The Department of Education and Labor Department could be the next targets for big federal cuts. The Department of Education sends $1+ billion to Connecticut each year which includes Title 1, the largest K-12 grant program for underserved kids. Locally, anywhere from 1-20% of local education budgets comes from DOE. Pell grants, civil rights decisions, disabilities educational funding, student loan, FAFSA all come from that huge department. The Governor’s address was rosy and positive. There was a strong sense in the air that he will be running for re-election again and not a lot of his party would have a huge issue with that given the priorities laid out during his address. The pipeline for dollars from Washington may be running out and would come with serious conversations about our state budget (and at a critical time), but as the Governor said, time will tell.  

The fight between the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) and Connecticut’s largest utility providers escalated again this week. Eversource and Avangrid filed for an injunction in Superior Court against PURA, accusing the agency of violating constitutional rights and engaging in improper procedures. The utilities have alleged that Chairman Marissa Gillett has been unlawfully appointing herself as the presiding officer in most cases, making substantive rulings without a commission vote     and issuing decisions with the executive secretary’s signature. Avangrid and Eversource claim that PURA’s practices break state law, lack transparency, and have hindered their ability to appeal decisions.

While PURA denies any wrongdoing, the agency opened a docket to review its own processes, particularly regarding how presiding officers are appointed and the authority for issuing motions in its proceedings. The lawsuit filed by the utilities requests that Gillett be recused from the investigation due to bias. In the meantime, the open docket prevents commissioners from any communication about the case outside of formal hearings, a move the utilities claim is further muddying the waters.

Sparks flew at the Energy and Technology Committee’s public hearing on Tuesday. There were several bills on the agenda, including one that would change the structure of PURA to allow a single commissioner to make decisions. Eversource said the proposed law “would achieve only one outcome, which is to make currently unlawful actions lawful.” In its submitted testimony Avangrid said the bill “makes two substantial changes, both of which appear to change state law to provide cover to actions that are currently in violation of it.” Committee Co-Chairs, Sen. Norm Needleman and Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, traded sharp words with representatives from the utility companies, while others tried to cool down (no pun intended) the atmosphere.

This dispute will continue on in the legislature process and in the courts.

January 30: The Most Successful Rescue Operation in U.S. Military History

Today in 1945, Bridgeport native Lt. Col. Henry Mucci led a coalition of U.S. Rangers and Filipino allies in a daring raid deep into heavily occupied enemy territory to rescue over 500 Allied prisoners of war from a Japanese concentration camp. The mission, known as the Raid on Cabanatuan or simply “The Great Raid,” was the most successful rescue operation in U.S. military history, and it instantly transformed Mucci into one of Connecticut’s most famous World War II heroes.

Born in 1909 to Italian immigrants living in Bridgeport, Henry Andrew Mucci’s first military experience was with the Connecticut National Guard, which he joined at the age of 20. A few years later, after being initially rejected for being “too short,” he was accepted into the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating with a commission in 1936. After gaining an extensive infantry background, Mucci was placed in charge of the 98th Field Artillery Batallion in 1943 and promptly began transforming it into an elite Special Forces unit. Following a year of intense training in the Pacific islands, Mucci was ready to lead the men of the newly created 6th Ranger Battalion into action.

In 1944, as Allied forces fought their way across the Philippines to liberate the islands from Japanese control, troubling reports emerged that the Japanese intended to execute prisoners of war in response to the Allies’ advance. With General Douglas MacArthur’s blessing, and logistical help from 250 Filipino guerillas, Lt. Col. Mucci led 121 Rangers on an incredibly dangerous mission to rescue Allied POWs from the heavily guarded Cabanatuan camp, 30 miles deep into enemy-held territory. With only 48 hours’ worth of planning, Mucci’s small coalition trekked through thick tropical jungle, and with help from their Filipino guides, were able to completely overwhelm the Japanese guards at the prison camp (who outnumbered them at least 2 to 1) and liberate over 500 prisoners, most of whom were American soldiers who had survived the brutal Bataan Death March of 1942 — all with the loss of only two Rangers killed in action.

News of Mucci’s successful rescue operation spread like wildfire throughout the United States, and at war’s end, he was welcomed back to Connecticut as a hero. He received many citations, awards, and other accolades for his heroism and leadership, but perhaps none were dearer to him than the effusive praise of the men who served under his command. They described him as “so charismatic you couldn’t believe it” and swore they would follow him into any situation, no matter how dangerous. Captain Robert Prince summed up the thoughts of many when he later said, “[Mucci] made a Ranger battalion out of a bunch of mule skinners, and he inspired us and trained us… Any success we had belongs to Colonel Mucci.” Thanks to Henry Mucci, not a single POW was left behind, today in Connecticut history.

To view the full story on the CT Historian's website, click here.