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Guam hospital to keep Medicare provider status
WASHINGTON, D.C.—It has been decided that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will not terminate Guam Memorial Hospital Authority’s Medicare provider status at this time, according to Delegate Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-GU) yesterday.
In a statement from Bordallo’s office, it said that CMS decided yesterday not to proceed with a termination action against GMHA until a future compliance survey is completed.
The hospital was in danger of having its Medicare provider status terminated as early as Oct. 3, 2018, after an April 2018 survey found that it was out of compliance with several conditions of participation for the Medicare program.
This followed the submission of an allegation of compliance and evidence of correction by GMHA, which CMS determined to be credible.
CMS noted that it continues to investigate a complaint regarding a fire at the hospital on July 27, 2018, which may affect future compliance enforcement actions.
“Guam Memorial Hospital is a critical provider of Medicare and Medicaid services on Guam. I am pleased that the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has decided not to terminate GMH’s Medicare provider status, which would have had a devastating effect on healthcare for many in our community,” said Bordallo.
“I am encouraged by GMH’s submission and implementation of a plan of correction, and I hope that they will continue to live up to the standards required by the Medicare program. While this is good news to get GMH out of the immediate threat of Medicare decertification, I continue working to establish a federal task force to provide our public hospital with needed federal technical assistance to improve the quality and delivery of service to our people. (PR)
