THE Commonwealth Utilities Corp. is unable to accept the $225,000 monthly payment proposed by the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp., CUC Board Chairwoman Janice A. Tenorio told CHCC Chief Executive Officer Esther L. Muna.
In her letter to Muna on Thursday, Tenorio said CHCC is required to pay CUC, as stated in an April 19 notice, to prevent interruption of utility services.
In his April 19 notice of disconnection, then-acting CUC Executive Director Dallas M. Peavey Jr. gave CHCC 14 days to pay its outstanding balance of $53.6 million.
Tenorio told Muna that the $225,000 monthly payment that CHCC offered to pay “is not sustainable as we both know the offer is quite short of the average monthly billing for CHCC’s utility consumption.”
CHCC’s average monthly utility billing is between $350,000 and $400,000.
Tenorio said CUC requires CHCC to pay its entire monthly bill in full each month beginning with March 2023 billings, plus pay an additional $225,000 monthly to retire the hospital’s long outstanding arrears.
She said CUC acknowledges the $219,000 that CHCC paid on April 19, 2023, adding that it was applied against a portion of the hospital’s March 2023 billing.
“While you shared the challenges and problems with CHCC’s cash flow collections and the timing of federal reimbursements with CUC’s board of directors at our meeting this afternoon, the outstanding arrears remain CHCC’s obligation and only CHCC can determine what is absolutely doable to resolve the arrears and its billings going forward. CUC, on the other hand, can no longer continue to service CHCC without full payment for services already rendered in good faith,” Tenorio said.
Asked for comment, CHCC Chief Executive Officer Esther Muna said: “What we shared with the [CUC] board was not about collections but about insufficient reimbursement due to Medicaid PE expenses exceeding payment from Medicaid. So paying more than what we offered is unacceptable…. They responded that they will proceed to disconnect.”
CHCC, she said, will prepare its facilities to ensure patient care will not be disrupted if CUC proceeds with disconnection.
“As we stated at the Senate hearing on Friday, as long as we’re on government rate…, the continued absence of subsidy prevents us from paying CUC’s exorbitant and unreasonable rate,” Muna said.
CHCC
