OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
sSB-238
AN ACT INCREASING OVERSIGHT OF MERGERS AND
ACQUISITIONS OF GROUP PRACTICES.
Primary Analyst: CP 4/20/21
Contributing Analyst(s):
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 22 $ FY 23 $
State Comptroller - Fringe
Benefits
1
GF - Cost 84,000 86,500
Office of Health Strategy GF - Cost 203,500 209,605
Note: GF=General Fund
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
This bill makes various changes concerning physician group
practices.
By law, certain health care entity transactions require a certificate of
need (CON) approval from the Office of Health Strategy (OHS). The
bill lowers the threshold, from eight physicians to two, for the
minimum group practice size requiring CON approval for certain
ownership transfers. It is estimated that OHS will need to hire two
Health Care Analyst positions, at a combined $135,500 in FY 22, to
review CON applications as they are anticipated to increase by 10 per
year.
The bill also requires group practices with two or more physicians,
1
The fringe benefit costs for most state employees are budgeted centrally in accounts
administered by the Comptroller. The estimated active employee fringe benefit cost
associated with most personnel changes is 41.3% of payroll in FY 22 and FY 23. 2021SB-00238-R000553-FN.DOCX Page 2 of 2
rather than just those with 30 or more, to annually report certain
information to OHS. OHS will need one Research Analyst position,
starting at $68,000 in FY 22, to handle the increased workload
associated with this provision.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to inflation.