GMH: 40 YEARS OF FUNDING SHORTFALL
DON’T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT – LOCAL MEDIA HAS DOCUMENTED 40 YEARS OF FUNDING SHORTFALL
July 5, 2018
Hagåtña – The litany of issues that have plagued the island’s lone public hospital has been documented by Guam’s media outlets for decades.
Tonight the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority (GMHA) team is back at the Legislature to fight for funding that will allow the doctors and nurses and staff with the tools they need to provide life-saving services for our people.
Guam Chief Financial Officer said a portion of the sales tax will become a dedicated funding source for GMH and help end 40 years of funding shortfall. She began her testimony tonight by reading past headlines. Manglona she was cut off and not allowed to complete her testimony. Here’s what she presented to lawmakers:
Creditors Threaten GMH Again: Pacific Daily News, 1979
A financially weak GMH will have to come up with $300,000 by Wednesday or face eviction.
Deloitte Pricing Report: 1992
The subsidy increased from $5.8M in FY1989 to $11.6 million in FY1991. Although the hospital has survived due to these increased government subsidies, the current operating environment indicates that the subsidy would have to be increased by several million each year in order to guarantee GMH’s solvency.
Troubled Guam Hospital to Lay Off 100 Workers: PDN: March 6, 2003
The Guam Memorial Hospital will give 100 employees their pink slips Monday, which will save the financially rocky institution about $1M per month, said GMH acting Administrator Bill McMillan. The hospital has begun the process of privatizing its environmental, food and housekeeping services, allowing private companies to bid for the contracts today.
Guam Hospital Pay Delayed as Government Struggles: PDN: Sept. 9, 2003
Guam Memorial Hospital employees have again been told not to expect their paychecks on time this week because the government of Guam has not paid its medical bills. … For the next payday after this, the hospital may have to decide between paying its employees or paying vendors for things such a blood transfusions and critical pharmaceutical drugs.
Guam Hospital Administrator Grilled by Lawmakers: PDN: Aug. 11, 2004
The Guam Memorial Hospital administration’s proposed plan to outsource its housekeeping and security departments faced rough sailing at the Guam Legislature yesterday … Vice speaker Frank Aguon agreed with Leon Guerrero that instead of taking the outsourcing route, the hospital administration should provide its staff “adequate tools that would allow them to do perform their jobs.
GUAM HOSPITAL STRUGGLES TO ATTRACT DOCTORS: PDN, Sept. 8, 2005
For years, the financially strapped hospital has not been able to attract off-island doctors and nurses with competitive salaries. At the same time, many local doctors and nurses have left the island, looking for better opportunities and working environments.
Guam Hospital Audit Cites Questionable Accounting: PDN, April 6, 2006
According to the Office of the Public Auditor report released on Tuesday, the hospital’s operating losses of US $11M in fiscal year 2004 and US$11.4M in fiscal year 2003 raise doubt as to the Authority’s ability to continue going without continued subsidies from the government of Guam. Guam Memorial Hospital Authority has already defaulted on its US $6.5M note payable to the Government of Guam Retirement Fund and is in arrears on unpaid retirement contributions of approximately US $10M as of Sept. 30, 2004. [$1.8 million owed in 2018]
Cash-strapped Guam Hospital Mired in Debt: PDN, Oct. 13, 2010
The Guam Memorial Hospital Authority owes its vendors over US$20 million and one of them is threatening to bring to court the island’s only civilian hospital to collect payments. The Ohio-based Trustaff, which is owed US$1.1 million, recruits health care professionals like nurses, doctors, pharmacists, among others, for GMHA.
Guam Hospital Owes Retirement Fund $7M: PDN, April 12, 2011
In Guam, a class-action lawsuit that demands Guam Memorial Hospital (GMH) pay an estimated US$7 million in allegedly unpaid retirement contributions has been filed in the Superior Court of Guam. The lawsuit, which was filed Friday, asks a judge to order the hospital to make employee and employer contributions to the Government of Guam Retirement Fund for the years 1996 to 1998, 2000 to 2003, 2010 and 2011.
Complaint Prompts Discussion of Guam Hospital’s Debts: PDN, Sept. 21, 2012
The hospital’s cycle of debt was at the forefront of discussions during the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority’s (GMHA) board of trustees meeting last night. During the meeting, it was revealed that a GMH vendor, which was not identified, has contacted the hospital about a $5 million debt owed by GMH. The hospital has 60 days to respond to the complaint. If there is no response, the vendor has threatened to tap into the federal money the hospital receives for Medicaid and the Medicaid Integrity Program (MIP).
Calvo Approves Line Of Credit Bill For Guam Hospital: PDN, July 2, 2013
“After Gov. Eddie Calvo signed Bill 132 into law yesterday, Sen. Dennis Rodriguez, author of the bill, said the signing of the measure will now allow for critical financing of Guam Memorial Hospital’s (GMH) long-term debt. GMH is authorized by current law to enter into a line of credit, a revolving fund, or a direct loan not to exceed $25 million. Of the total amount, $12 million has been borrowed to date.”
$114 Million Operating Loss For Guam Memorial Hospital: PDN, July 1, 2014
Guam Memorial Hospital has been losing so much money for so long, auditors now have “substantial doubt” about whether it can continue to operate, according to a financial audit released yesterday. Despite receiving $50 million in subsidies from the government of Guam during the past five fiscal years, the hospital posted net operating losses of $114.6 million, according to a fiscal 2013 financial audit released by the Office of Public Accountability. It was prepared by Deloitte & Touche.
Guam Hospital Continue Struggling to Meet Obligations: PDN, July 1, 2015
Guam Memorial Hospital will struggle to survive without cash subsidies from the local government, states an audit report released June 30. “Without subsidies from the General Fund, it will have a hard time meeting obligations,” Public Auditor Doris Flores Brooks said.

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