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GMH gets another $2.3M in Medicare funding
HAGÅTÑA, Guam—Another $2.3 million in rebase funding has been transmitted to the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority, adding to the more than $9 million the hospital has received in rebasing funds from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services since January 2019.
The $2.3 million GMHA just received is part of a rebase adjustment to the hospital’s fiscal year 2017 Medicare Cost Report. The total rebase adjustment funding transmitted to GMHA since January is now $11 million.
“Our government has been striving for parity for decades while working with the bare minimum, resulting in the inability to pay down its debt. Nevertheless, our passionate nurses, doctors and professional staff at GMH never wavered in their commitment to provide the highest degree of healthcare to our patients,” said Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero. “We are consistently restoring balance to our hospital and I am optimistic that this good working relationship with CMS will continue.”
GMHA Administrator Lillian Perez-Posadas added: “The infusion of additional cash from Medicare rebasing is not just a win for GMH, but a win for the community we serve. Hospital care at GMH will always be delivered regardless of a patient’s ability to pay, so we must continue to build upon this success in order to support and improve GMH’s delivery of lifesaving services in a safe environment.”
In January, CMS approved, for the first time since 1998, GMHA’s request to rebase its rate for services to patients under Medicare, from a rate of $5,154 per hospital discharge to $9,511 per discharge, with the rate to increase annually based on a market basket index.
As a result, GMHA received $6.3 million on Feb. 7 for its FY 2014, FY 2015 and FY 2016 Medicare Cost Reports. On April 12, GMHA received another $2.4 million for its FY 2018 Medicare Cost Report. The hospital expects upwards of $6 million additionally each year for payments on Medicare, Medicaid and MIP accounts.
In addition to an adjustment to its rebase rate, CMS also approved an increase to GMHA’s per diem rate by 26 percent to $1,646 which became effective April 17. (PR)
