Guam Memorial Hospital CEO Peter John Camacho
In an apparent effort to ease tensions between Guam's only public hospital and the Guam Legislature, Governor Eddie Baza Calvo has strongly urged GMH Chief Executive Officer Peter John Camacho to give the lawmakers the information they've been demanding.
In a letter to Camacho, Gov. Calvo said, "it is my strong belief that you are in a position to act in the best interest of both the hospital and the people of Guam by releasing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services report and the corresponding corrective actions,with the support of GMHA’s Board of Trustees, to the members of the Guam Legislature."
Camacho and other GMH officials have resisted releasing the report, which reportedly includes many serious allegations of deficiencies at the facility. The general response of GMH to the legislature has been, 'give us enough money to operate and we'll take care of our problems.'
The stakes are high, since failure to fix the problems may result in the loss of millions of dollars in Medicare/Medicaid funding. As Calvo said, "[W]e are in a situation where we need to work with the Senators to maintain the desperately needed funding source for the Guam Memorial Hospital. There are senators who are actively working to strip the hospital of this funding source and it is imperative that the legislature understand all aspects of the hospital’s management and financial challenges as outlined in the CMS report."
Gov. Calvo concluded: "We finally have an opportunity, after 40 years, to help the island’s only public hospital get the funding it needs to fill the shortfall left when people aren’t able to pay their bills, or Medicare/Medicaid underpays us. It is absolutely necessary that we work together to help the hospital.I continue to stand ready to support the hospital in any way possible."