Bowater still sponsor of GNP pensions

WASHINGTON – Sen. Susan Collins announced Tuesday she has received written confirmation from the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation that Bowater Inc. – which owned Great Northern Paper until 1999 – continues to be the sponsor of the defined benefit pension plans covering employees of Great Northern.

In another development related to the GNP bankruptcy, Collins said she has persuaded the federal government to speed $300,000 in payments to Millinocket Regional Hospital for Medicare and Medicaid services.

“This written confirmation from the federal pension authority should offer some peace of mind to the workers at Great Northern that the retirement savings they have worked so hard to amass are safe,” said Collins.

At a Jan. 18 meeting with GNP union leaders in Millinocket, Collins offered to confirm the security and availability of pensions for Great Northern retirees.

Collins also successfully persuaded the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to speed $300,000 in delayed reimbursements to Millinocket Regional Hospital.

When MRH converted its status to a critical-access hospital last November, the federal government’s computer payment system had delayed reimbursements to MRH for Medicare and Medicaid services by more than two months. Collins contacted officials at CMMS, who worked to override the computer-generated payment schedule. The fiscal intermediary released $300,000 to MRH on Jan. 23, thus giving the hospital needed operating capital.