The $41.5-million budget submission made by the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. for fiscal year 2015 was criticized Monday by its own board, who described the figure presented as unrealistic and based on wrong assumptions.<\/p>\n
It was also learned that the CHCC budget request for next fiscal year was submitted in April to the Executive Branch without the board\u2019s go-signal. The board has even yet to discuss the proposed budget for 2015.<\/p>\n
Board vice chair Pedro Dela Cruz said he will ask lawmakers at the upcoming budget hearing at the Legislature to act against the budget\u2019s passage until the CHCC board has fully reviewed and approved the budget recommendation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was submitted without the board review and concurrence pursuant to law. If the CEO expects us\u2014the board\u2014to go up at the Legislature and support that budget, it ain\u2019t gonna happen because I myself would recommend against its passage until such time that the board reviews it. That\u2019s my take,\u201d said Dela Cruz.<\/p>\n
Philip Mendiola-Long also aired concerns, saying it\u2019s not true that CHCC would collect $30 million to $40 million for the year.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a finance standpoint, we\u2019re submitting a $40-million budget that\u2019s completely wrong!\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s no way we are collecting $30 million to $40 million in revenues\u2026so why on earth are we presenting a budget that reflects that?\u201d he asked the board.<\/p>\n
He said CHCC\u2019s cash shortage each month is significant. \u201cYou know how much cash we\u2019re short every month? It\u2019s almost $1.6 million per month! The budget needs to be done on cash basis at this point\u2026so we need to look into the numbers again,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Mendiola-Long emphasized that pending all the pertinent records from CHCC management, the board cannot plan on how it could help the management seek the funding it needs to stay afloat.<\/p>\n
The CHCC\u2019s budget submission of $41.5 million in April is inclusive of Tinian and Rota health centers.<\/p>\n
In her April letter to the Office of Management and Budget, hospital CEO Esther Mu\u00f1a indicated that baselines for fiscal year 2015 are projected based on last fiscal year\u2019s collections, billed procedures, and pending claims from fiscal years 2012, 2013, and 2014.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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