The state and the Connecticut Hospital Association have come to a tentative agreement to end all outstanding litigation that the association had brought against the state, but both sides are keeping the specifics close to the vest.

Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont announced late Tuesday the administration had come to the agreement with the association and that Democratic and Republican legislative leaders had been briefed. At issue is a 2015 hospital industry lawsuit over a so-called provider tax the association said cost state hospitals billions of dollars.

While top legislators were briefed, they were not told all the details of the tentative agreement.

“The governor's office and the OPM [Office of Policy and Management] secretary gave us a thumbnail approach, but they did not share with us the meat on the bones,” State Sen. Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, told the Connecticut Law Tribune Wednesday,

Fasano suggested the limited information made it difficult to know if he'd support the tentative agreement.

“It's tough to make a call without seeing the language,” he said. “There has to be some resolution to the hospital tax, which was the essence of the lawsuit.”

The 2011 General Assembly, with the support of then-Gov. Dannel Malloy, established the provider tax. Under the agreement, according to the Connecticut Mirror news site, the hospital industry was to pay $350 million per year to the state, which was supposed to reimburse that money, plus $50 million, back to the hospitals. But state budget deficits grew over the next several years and payments were not made to the hospitals at the level they were suppose to be, according to the news outlet.

In an email statement late Tuesday, Lamont said: “The beginning of my administration marked a reset of the relationship between the state of Connecticut and its hospitals. … Both sides came to the table and negotiated a good faith settlement that will provide predictability and stability for both the state and the hospitals, and reduces the losses the state would have incurred in the absence of an agreement. This is a path forward that provides fiscal stability for the hospital industry and marks a new chapter in our state's relationships with the hospitals.”

David Bednarz, the governor's spokesman, told the Connecticut Law Tribune there will be additional details in the coming days.

In a statement, Jennifer Jackson, chief executive officer of the association, said: “This agreement represents a path forward for hospitals and the state that recognizes the important role hospitals play in providing patients with quality healthcare and in strengthening our state's economy.”

While Jackson provided a statement, further association comment had to come from Michele Sharp, the association's vice president of membership and communications, who did not respond to inquiries Wednesday.—

The association and its member hospitals must approve the tentative agreement, along with the Connecticut attorney general. The tentative agreement will then be submitted to the Legislature for review and approval.