JFL Owes $5.9M in Income Taxes, $6.4M in Social Security; SRMC Carries $20.8M GERS Balance

Cash shortages at the territory’s two hospitals have left millions of dollars in employee-related obligations unpaid, including pension contributions, taxes, union deductions and other withholdings, while some former employees are also waiting months for lump-sum payments owed after leaving their jobs. During Wednesday’s hospital budget hearing, Darlene Baptiste, chief executive officer of Juan F. Luis Hospital and Schneider Regional Medical Center, told lawmakers that the hospitals’ “cash position” means management is “unable to meet the entire gross amount for their wages and benefits.” Accounts payable at both facilities include “outstanding employee withholdings and related obligations,” she said. Those balances include money owed to the Government Employees’ Retirement System, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, unions and “other employee deductions.” At JFL, employee-related obligations total $22.7 million. Baptiste did not provide lawmakers with a corresponding overall figure for...