by Ken Quintanilla

Guam - Legislation aimed at helping pay off the Guam Memorial Hospital's multimillion dollar debt is set to be heard on session floor next week. And while the source of revenue raised concern from the health insurance companies on Guam, other alternatives have been tossed around including using funds generated from amusement devices which have come under fire from the Attorney General's Office.

It was back in January when Senator Dennis Rodriguez, Jr. introduced the GMH Healthcare Trust and Development Act of 2013. "What Bill 20 does is provides some financial relief to hospital and starts to set up the Foundation to get the hospital back into financial stability," he said. The bill would provide $8.5 million in annual revenue stream funded by a 4% fee assessed on premiums collected by health insurance companies on Guam. "And so we're looking at possibly some other alternatives to the funding source because we know that the original source of funding that is in the bill has really gotten a lot of pushback," the senator added.

Rodriguez says he's considering at least three different alternatives, one of which includes replacing the idea of using fees assessed on premiums to funds generated from amusement devices. He explained, "As you know, these things have been recently licensed by the executive branch, by the Department of Revenue & Taxation. If we're able to verify that that's a viable source of funding, then absolutely. We're going to make sure we use any source to help our hospital. We have to do anything possible to make sure our hospital is sustainable."

These amusement devices have come under fire from the AG, which instead considers these machines gambling devices and illegal under Guam law. Rodriguez says this idea is still in the beginning stages and because of the controversy surrounding the issuance of licenses for Liberty, Uncle Sam, Pharaoh and other similar gaming machines, he's going to take his time. "So if it is truly revenue that we've seen come in the past and it's something that we see as being viable in the future then that's something we're going to consider," he said.

Rodriguez says he has yet to consult with the AG's Office on the possible amendment to the bill. And should the substantial changes be made, he's considering bringing the measure back to his committee, holding another public hearing and possibly addressing it in the May session. "But we must always remember what the bottom line here is our hospital - our hospital needs the resources," he said.

Rodriguez adds in the time the bill has been introduced, there have been no other options put on the table to help payoff GMH's debt. Bill 20 meanwhile would also fund management and operational reforms along with building an urgent primary care center. Governor Eddie Calvo threw his support behind Bill 20 earlier this year, saying it was a solution to GMH's challenges, adding that insurance companies have been taking advantage of the tax breaks through the qualifying certificate program meant to create a captive health insurance program which has yet to occur.

Session meanwhile resumes on Monday at 3pm.