CT gov. tells hospital executives, 'It could be worse'

Hospital executives have been bemoaning the millions of dollars in cuts they face under Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's proposed budget, and this week, they got a chance to tell him in person. But before anyone could describe their organization's dire finances, Malloy pointed to his own. "I want to say at the outset that I would trade my deficit for any one of yours today," Malloy told hospital executives and trustees at the Connecticut Hospital Association headquarters in Wallingford. If the hospital officials were expecting the governor to commiserate about the pain they'll face if his budget becomes law, they didn't get it. Nor did they get an offer to reconsider any of the proposed cuts, although Malloy noted that his budget director remains open to hearing from them.