THE Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. is requesting $3.8 million for the Health Network Program, formerly known as the medical referral program.
Public Law 22-33, which returned the program to CHCC, allows it to submit a funding request to the governor and the Legislature if the appropriated funding has been exhausted prior to the end of the fiscal year.
In her letter to Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez, CHCC Chief Executive Officer Esther L. Muna said as of March 31, 2024, the year-to-date expenditures for the program amounted to $2.3 million. She also noted that of the $797,711 that the FY 2024 budget law appropriated to HNP, only $655,470 had been transferred.
She said based on CHCC’s annualized expenditures, the total projected expenditure for HNP for FY 2024 is expected to be around $4.6 million.
Muna said to ensure the smooth continuation of the program, CHCC has already advanced $1.6 million of its own funds to augment the funding shortfall for HNP.
CHCC is requesting an additional funding of $3.8 million to sustain the activities of the HNP and return CHCC’s funds to its own coffers.
