Acting Health Secretary Pete Untalan disclosed to the House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare that the $118,045,422 collectibles included over $75 million from government payers like the HPMR, government insurance and the U.S. funded Medicaid health insurance program for the poor.
Close to $16 million are directly due from patients and an additional $10.751 million are also due from patients that had been referred for collections.
Different employers also owe the Commonwealth Health Center more than $7.331 million and the remaining $4.555 million should be paid by Medicare and other payers.
Untalan made the disclosure in the 65-page answers he provided to the committee after Chairman Rep. Ralph DLG. Torres subpoenaed him to appear before an oversight hearing.
Untalan said the amount he provided the panel is just “approximate and change as payments are collected and additional bills are generated.”
It was not specified though when the arrears were first incurred.
Untalan has been the acting health secretary since May when Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez took a personal leave of absence due to medical reasons.
The HEW committee held a three-day oversight hearing on the Department of Public Health amid mounting complaints from the local community about the poor services they are getting.
Untalan did not attend the hearings because he went to the Philippines for a surgery.
Not enough staff
Despite the large volume of patients going to CHC and the millions of dollars in arrears it stands to collect, Untalan said the hospital has only two senior staffers assigned to the billings and collections process: Rosalyn Gibbons, the acting manager for the billing office, and Rosa Sorensen, the manager for the collections office.
Both report to the financial services administrator.
Under the fiscal year 2009 budget which ended last Sept. 30, Untalan said four full-time-employees for both offices were zero-funded despite the critical nature of their work.
He said the billing and collections offices should get more staffers to improve the finances of the hospital and fund facilities and project improvements.
He said the hospital is now diligently reviewing each delinquent account for referral to collection agencies.
Built in 1986, CHC is partially subsidized through local and federal financial aid and grants.
Recruitment challenge
Untalan said the hospital is particularly challenged in retaining quality doctors because the salaries it offers are not as competitive as those in the states or Canada.
“While there are several reasons why employees leave CHC, I do not believe management is a major factor. I believe a large reason for the medical staff turnover is the inability to provide competitive salaries…. The staff of CHC/DPH continue to meet the needs of the community with minimal financial support and a lack of adequate resources,” he said.
The acting secretary said they continue to actively recruit doctors and other medical professionals from the U.S., Canada and even the Philippines, to improve health care services to the public.
Head hunters have also been paid $25,000 per recruit. Moreover, medical residents from the University of Virginia, University of California San Francisco, and the University of New Mexico have been invited to do rotations at the Commonwealth Health Center in hopes of enticing them to work for CHC.
“This rotation experience provides them actual feel of the hospital, staff, and island,” said Untalan.
