Guam Memorial Hospital officials go before lawmakers to discuss FY2025 budget

A total of $74.3 million in the red. 

It's the Guam Memorial Hospital’s expected shortfall for Fiscal Year 2025, according to Guam Memorial Hospital Chief Financial Officer Yuka Hechanova. 

“Our expected funding sources in FY 2025 will not be sufficient enough to cover the expected operating expenses,” said Hechanova. 

Funding sources from patient revenues, Department of Corrections and federal grants is expected to amount to $157.7 million but their projected operating expenses is $232 million. 

It's why they’re asking the legislature for $50.9 million from the General Fund and $23.4 million from the Pharmaceutical Fund. 

“The most notable increases are expected in personnel costs, contractual and supplies. personnel costs for FY 2025 is expected to be $14 million higher than FY 2024,” she said. 

The budget request also revealed FY24 billing amounted to $212 million but actual collections were $76 million, which is only 36% of medical bills paid. 

“If your patient population is the type that just cannot pay, there’s no way you can keep operating without some kind of a subsidy. That's exactly the situation that we’re in here,” she added. 

Acting Hospital Administrator Dr. Dustin Prins offered senators three options. 

The first is to maintain a fixed annual subsidy from the General Fund of $60 to $80 million a year. 

If the legislature can only give them $30 million, then the second option is to cut most of the secondary tenants or outpatient services and if the subsidy is less than $10 million, the third option is to close all secondary tenants. 

“To be basically a Maternal Child Health, Pediatrics and ER. The question I ask is, is this what the people of Guam want,” said Prins. 

The threat of cutting much needed services is not sitting well with several senators to include Senator Telo Taitague. 

“You’re throwing it on our table now to say ‘here are the options that you have.’ You haven’t said we can work with any of these three options in front of us. That’s not our job,” said Taitague. “Our job is to listen to what you are going to do to fix the hospital, provide the services that are needed at this hospital, and how much it's going to cost you.”

Speaker Therese Terlaje reminded that it’s taxpayer dollars they’re asking for. 

“What you want from the taxpayers of Guam is $74 million. That would come in the form of the Pharmaceutical Fund and the General Fund. The Pharmaceutical Fund comes from business privilege tax. So it's all taxpayer money. $74 million,” said Terlaje.