After a collaborative effort with the hospital and the offices of Senator Martin Heinrich and Congresswoman Xochitl Torres Small, those offices have received confirmation that Gila Regional Medical Center will receive an accelerated/advance Medicare payment of $6,839,422. This loan is critical as Grant County deals with the impacts of COVID-19 and will allow GRMC to continue their operations and keep this health system functional.
This funding is expected to be delivered by the end of the week.
GRMC Interim Chief Executive Officer/Chief Financial Officer Richard Stokes, earlier this morning upon notification, sent out a memo to hospital staff:
"To All Staff and Medical Staff:
As you know, we are living in an unprecedented time as we cope with a pandemic in the United States, the likes of which has not been seen since 1918.
First, I would again like to thank everyone working at GRMC for the great job you are doing to care for our community. The coming weeks will be challenging but I know each of you is up to the task and that our efforts will confirm to the community that GRMC is a regional leader in providing quality healthcare.
Second, as service provided to our community have significantly declined because of the necessary steps taken by the Governor of New Mexico, cash flow has also significantly declined. At the same time, our supply costs, required purchased to prepare for COVID-19 patients has significantly risen. GRMC, like almost all hospitals in the United States, has a limited supply of cash on hand to carry on operations, and all hospitals and physician practices are extremely concerned with having enough available cash to carry on our much-needed services during the pandemic.
The administrative team has been working diligently to identify opportunities contained in the recently passed CARES Act that will help us.
As such, I am pleased to announce that through the efforts of PFS (patient financial services) Director Wanda Charnock, Controller Jennifer Klotz, and the administrative team, GRMC has successfully applied for and received an advanced Medicare payment of $6,839,422. While this will relieve the immediate cash flow crisis, it is important to know that this is a short-term loan from CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid). We do have a six-month grace period and repayment of this loan will start in month seven and continue for 12 months thereafter.
I ask that each of you continue to be mindful of controlling our expenses and finding ways to improve processes to be more efficient.
Thanks for all you do."
Below you will find statements from Senator Heinrich and Congresswoman Torres Small.
"Rural hospitals like Gila Regional Medical Center are absolutely essential to the health of their communities. It is critical that we do everything possible to keep these hospitals afloat during this crisis and I am proud of the collaboration with Congresswoman Torres Small to secure this loan that will provide a significant infusion of resources for this hospital. As we continue to grapple with the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak, I will keep fighting to make sure New Mexico's hospitals – especially rural hospitals – and frontline health care workers get the funding, resources, supplies, and support they need." – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.
"Every day I am working to make sure rural hospitals in New Mexico have the resources they need to keep their doors open and provide much needed care in their communities. When Gila Regional Medical Center (GRMC) contacted Senator Heinrich and me about their dire financial situation, we sprang into action. Thanks to strong communication with Gila Regional, funds included in the CARES Act, and good teamwork to highlight the situation with CMS, we were able to help secure over $6.8 million in funding that will allow GRMC to stay open and continue treating patients. Now more than ever, we need to work together to support our rural healthcare, and I was grateful to be able to work with Senator Heinrich and the staff at GRMC to help make this happen." – Congresswoman Xochitl Torres Small, NM-02
For additional background, attached is a document that explains the accelerated/advanced payment process that Senator Heinrich and Congresswoman Torres Small are using to help rural health care systems stay afloat. Both members also sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar urging the administration to provide immediate financial assistance to rural hospitals. The letter points out that the vast majority of rural hospitals have ceased performing elective procedures and seeing non-urgent patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has significantly reduced revenue and threatens financial viability.
That letter, as well as other comments from Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, as well as U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small, can be found here.
As a reminder, the CARES Act, that both lawmakers voted for, created a $100 billion grant program for hospitals and other health care providers combatting the coronavirus pandemic. The Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response is set to publish guidance on this program that will provide grants to hospitals, public entities, not-for-profit entities, and Medicare and Medicaid enrolled suppliers and institutional providers to cover unreimbursed health care related expenses or lost revenues attributable to the public health emergency resulting from the coronavirus.
The senator and the congresswoman are pressing the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response every day to develop grant application mechanisms and will continue to do so as they fight to keep rural health services ready and able.