December 1, 2014

The Connecticut Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Public Health Office of Health Care Access today issued their respective proposed final decisions on the application for a joint venture between the Greater Waterbury Health Network, Inc. and Vanguard Health Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of Tenet Healthcare Corporation.

Both proposed final decisions approve the transaction, but place several conditions on the approvals.

Both agencies are now accepting public comment on the proposed final decisions. Public comments on the proposed final decisions will be accepted until Monday, December 8, 2014. The final decisions will be issued on December 17, 2014.

To view the Office of Health Care Access' Proposed Final Decision, please visit www.ct.gov/dph/ohca.

Public comments to the Office of the Attorney General can be submitted in writing to Assistant Attorney General Gary W. Hawes, Office of the Attorney General, 55 Elm Street, PO Box 120, Hartford, CT 06106. Public comments will also be accepted by email to gary.hawes@ct.gov

Public comments to the Office of Health Care Access can be submitted in writing to Kimberly Martone, Director of Operations, Office of Health Care Access, Connecticut Department of Public Health, 410 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, CT 06134. Public comments will also be accepted by email to ohca@ct.gov.

Pursuant to Connecticut law, the Office of the Attorney General is responsible for reviewing certain proposed transfers of assets or operations of nonprofit hospitals to for-profit entities within the State of Connecticut, and the Office of Health Care Access is responsible for reviewing such proposed for-profit transactions for matters related to access to care. These reviews and approvals are required whenever a nonprofit hospital enters into an agreement to transfer a material amount of its assets or operations to a for-profit entity.

The Office of the Attorney General also conducts a separate review of proposed hospital mergers under the Connecticut Antitrust Act. That review is ongoing.

Assistant Attorneys General Gary W. Hawes; Alayna M. Stone ; Henry Salton, head of the Health and Education Department; and Paralegal Specialist Cheryl Turner are assisting the Attorney General with this matter.

Kimberly R. Martone, OHCA’s Director of Operations, Kevin Hansted OHCA’s Staff Attorney/Hearing Officer, Steven W. Lazarus and Carmen Cotto, OHCA Staff, and Administrative Assistant Barbra Olejarz are assisting the DPH Deputy Commissioner with this matter.

###