UConn faces $30M hit from COVID-19 refunds, president says

Photo | Contributed The UConn campus in Storrs.

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By Sean Teehan

The University of Connecticut will likely take a $30 million hit from refunds of residential student fees, and UConn Health may lose $130 million by the end of fiscal 2020, as Gov. Ned Lamont considers using the hospital as a COVID-19 overflow facility for the state.

In a UConn board of trustees meeting Wednesday morning, university President Thomas Katsouleas said that in addition to the $30 million in housing, parking and dining refunds the school will pay out, in a worst-case scenario they could lose about $70 million from international students if they cannot return, and could spend upwards of $100 million converting the UConn Health’s Farmington campus for emergency COVID-19 services.

"We've also offered our resources in the case of a surge," Katsouleas said, noting UConn Health currently has 82 beds available. "We're also exploring with the Governor the possibility of converting the entire tower at UConn health to an emergency surge overflow response center, and that would potentially generate another 112 beds."

UConn Health, which opened a heated tent to serve as triage for patients who might have the coronavirus, is currently doing about 30 COVID-19 tests per day, about half to members of the public and half to healthcare workers, said Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, CEO of the UConn Health system. Jackson Laboratory in Farmington and the state testing facility are processing those tests.

The health care system has suspended all elective surgery and non-critical procedures in order to prepare for a possible surge, and that could have heavy financial implications, according to UConn Chief Financial Officer Scott Jordan.

UConn Health has spent about $2.4 million in emergency preparations while losing about $15 million from elective surgery revenue, Jordan said. The system will likely lose about $130 million by the end of the fiscal year in July.

The university also stands to lose up to $70 million if its approximately 2,000 international students don’t come back to campus.

"UCon is very much dependent on international students, particularly students from China," Jordan said.

This story has been updated