By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- A Medicare contractor is demanding Massena Memorial Hospital repay $1.6 million the contractor alleges MMH was overpaid over the last seven years.

MMH will pay $295,000 per month for six months to National Government Services, but hospital officials aren’t happy about it.

NGS says they paid too much in a Medicare low volume adjustment in 2009, 2011 and 2013. The money came to MMH through a program that gives cash to sole community providers or Medicare-dependent hospitals that see more than a 5 percent drop in discharges in a year due to circumstances beyond the hospital’s control.

“It’s just plain not fair,” said MMH CFO Patrick Facteau at the Nov. 21 Board of Managers meeting.

He said NGS initially demanded the money within 15 days or threatened to force them to pay close to 10 percent interest.

“Well after we’ve been paid and used it for various good reasons, Medicare says ‘pay us back,’” MMH CEO Robert Wolleben said.

He said there are 14 hospitals in New York and a few in Maine who are being hit with the so-called “clawbacks,” all of whom had Medicare contracting done through NGS.

“Senator (Charles) Schumer is active on this topic,” Wolleben said.

He said with the new president and Republican control of the Senate and House of Representatives, the program could change. Right now, it offers the payments to hospitals more than 30 minutes away from another hospital. In the winter with bad road, Canton-Potsdam Hospital can take that amount of time or longer to reach.

“It has to be approved by the federal government and its up for approval in 2017. Who knows what the federal government’s position is going to be with the change in administration,” Wolleben said.