A judge for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Northern Texas approved on Friday Hartford HealthCare’s $86.1 million purchase of two Connecticut hospitals owned by Prospect Medical Holdings — Manchester Memorial and Rockville General.
Prospect filed for bankruptcy protection in January, and the sale of its hospitals around the country is being overseen by the court. The company did not receive any other bids for the two Connecticut facilities.
Deborah Weymouth, president and CEO of Prospect’s Connecticut hospitals, said in an emailed statement that the organization is pleased to have received court approval.
“This marks an important milestone and we look forward to closing the transaction as quickly as possible,” Weymouth wrote.
Tina Varona, a spokesperson with Hartford HealthCare, said the health system is “uniquely positioned to deliver on our promise to these communities.”
“We are actively working to provide resources to stabilize and grow the workforce, enhance quality and safety, and make strategic investments in people, programs, technologies, facilities and community partnerships,” Varona wrote in an emailed statement.
The deal still needs to receive state approval, known as a “certificate of need,” the process health care entities must clear before engaging in major transactions, like mergers and acquisitions.
OHS and the Lamont administration faced criticism over the time spent evaluating a failed $435 million deal signed in 2022 for Yale New Haven Health to acquire the three Prospect-owned hospitals.
During the state legislature’s 2025 session, earlier this year, lawmakers passed a measure that allows for an expedited timeline for the acquisition of hospitals that have filed for bankruptcy. Under the newly-established emergency certificate of need process, OHS must issue a final decision within 60 days from when the application is deemed complete.
OHS spokesperson Wendy Fuchs confirmed that Hartford HealthCare has yet to file for an emergency certificate of need.
Some of the proceeds from the $86.1 million sale will go towards paying the towns of Manchester and Vernon for outstanding real property taxes. Lawyers for Manchester and Vernon claim the towns are owed $4.2 million and $1.1 million in real property taxes, according to court documents.
A lawyer with Medical Properties Trust, Prospect’s landlord and the company that owns the hospital buildings, declined to confirm how much the towns were owed, but said that any real estate taxes would be paid.
“I’m not going to opine on the precise number because I don’t think we have a view on the number. I leave that to the debtor. But we don’t dispute that, whatever the real estate taxes that the debtor and the buyer agree to with the townships, those will be paid at closing,” the attorney said.
A spokesperson for MPT did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
The towns’ attorneys also claim Manchester and Vernon are owed an additional $692,288 and $330,316 in personal property taxes.
But Prospect has other debts to pay off that take priority over the municipal personal property taxes, including a loan from MPT that has a current balance of roughly $248 million. Unlike the real estate taxes, the outstanding personal property tax dispute would likely remain unresolved when the transaction closes, the judge said.
In addition to Manchester Memorial and Rockville General, Prospect also owns another Connecticut facility: Waterbury Hospital.
The state plans to acquire Waterbury as part of a broader plan to expand its own struggling flagship medical institution, UConn Health. The state is also in talks to acquire two independent hospitals, Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam and Bristol Hospital.
On Oct. 3, the University of Connecticut’s Board of Trustees and the UConn Health Board of Directors voted to approve a $13 million bid to acquire Waterbury Hospital. However, the health system had not submitted an offer as of Oct. 24.
The deal will also consist of some level of forgiveness of the outstanding taxes Prospect owes the state, Connecticut officials confirmed.
Earlier this week, The Connecticut Mirror reported that Prospect owes the state more than $127 million in unpaid hospital provider taxes going back more than three years, according to court documents.