Lamont's Blunder: Using Abortion As Business Recruiting Tool

My latest column for CTNewsJunkie.com:

Few topics get the blood boiling like abortion. But the topic here isn't the procedure itself; it's Gov. Lamont's attempt to use abortion access as a means of attracting businesses to the state.

To wit:

But there is a twist to it. Instead of touting Connecticut’s great business environment, which would be difficult to do with a straight face, Lamont is trying to exploit unfavorable reaction to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe vs. Wade by bragging about the fact that abortion is safe and legal in Connecticut, and that it will remain that way if he has anything to do with it ...

It feels like, in the absence of a favorable business climate, Lamont is devaluing abortion rights by using them as a cheap gimmick, less to offer the procedure to desperate pregnant women from red states than as an wedge issue to deploy in the service of some sort of economic war with conservative states.

Read more ...

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"... Lamont is devaluing abortion rights by using them as a cheap gimmick..." https://t.co/jBWAsjm1IU

— Linda Blais (@LindaB1310) July 5, 2022

Concerns about Yale New Haven Health's proposal to acquire three CT hospitals

A student reporter at the oldest daily college newspaper in the nation interviewed me about a subject I covered in a recent CTNewsJunkie column.

Yours truly is quoted here in this @yaledailynews piece about consolidation in the healthcare industry and my recent op-ed in @ctnewsjunkie. Always a pleasure to be interviewed by student journos diving into important matters of public policy. Go get 'em! https://t.co/ROzZ8THlI7

— Terry D. Cowgill (@terrycowgill) February 26, 2022

Hospital Wars Intensify As Yale New Haven Plans To Buy Three More Facilities

My latest column for CTNewsJunkie.com:

There's been a lot of activity in Connecticut's healthcare industry lately. The mergers, acquisitions and lawsuits are enough to make your head spin. 

The latest move -- Yale New Haven's proposed acquisition of three community hospitals and their related operations currently owned by Prospect Medical Holdings -- raises questions.

To wit:

The three facilities, Rockville General Hospital, Manchester Memorial Hospital, and Waterbury Hospital, will revert to nonprofit status if the deal is approved by the state Office of Health Care Access ...

On its face, this looks like a promising development. As the Courant has pointed out, a ProPublica investigation from 2020 found the Prospect system, which includes some 17 hospitals and more than 165 clinics and outpatient centers, “was riddled with poor and unsanitary conditions in its hospitals and lawsuits against [its] hospitals for fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid claims.” Not surprisingly, a private equity group, Leonard Green & Partners, owns a majority stake in Prospect.

Read more ...

Terry Cowgill looks at the pros and cons of the latest three-facility skirmish in the state's health system wars. #opinion https://t.co/rvFTN8i6Qg

— ctnewsjunkie (@ctnewsjunkie) February 14, 2022

She Wants Us To Watch What We Put In Our Bodies?

While I sympathize with her message, perhaps a woman who could convince her own husband to stop drawing on those Marlboro Lights would have more credibility on this issue?

I'll take a couple of Chalupas any day over a pack of Lucky Strikes!