June 18, 2018
Hagåtña — The Guam Memorial Hospital oversight hearing has begun as Senators Dennis Rodriguez, Frank Aguon, and Mike San Nicolas resume their effort to strip GMH of their dedicated funding source of $30M a year, and DOE of their funding source of $10M a year.
Senator Rodriguez, for eight years, has had oversight over the hospital. During this time, he has not fully funded GMH. He did not support the recently passed dedicated funding source for GMH earlier this year.
For decades now, GMH has been underfunded by as much as $30 million a year, affecting the quality of care for every man, woman and child on Guam. Despite this enormous shortage, and failing to fund GMH, senators are once again blaming leadership at the hospital.
The last three fiscal years, GMH management requested the following GMH funding from senators, but were shorted by tens of millions of dollars:
• Funding request from GMH for 2018: $36M
• Funding provided by the Legislature for 2018: $9.5M
• Amount shorted GMH by Health Chair and Legislature: $26.5M
• Funding request from GMH for 2017: $45.4M
• Funding approved by the Legislature for 2017: $18.8M
• Amount shorted GMH by Health Chair and Legislature: $26.3M
• Funding request from GMH for 2016: $35.1M
• Funding request approved by the Legislature for 2016: $13.5M
• Amount shorted GH by Health Chair and Legislature: $21.6M
While senators attempt to strip GMH of their $30 million dedicated funding source each year, the legislative health Chairman Dennis Rodriguez has allowed the Legislature to underfund the people’s hospital by more than $74 million in three years alone.
We are hopeful that at tonight’s hearing that senators will take ownership for their share of failed leadership — a failure to fund GMH.
