One more exicting news item before bed

The Advocate

Pick for La.’s Medicaid work protested

A company with ties to the state’s health secretary low-balled the cost it gave for handling the state’s Medicaid claims processing work, a competitor alleged in a protest of the contract award.

ACS State Healthcare, one of the competitors, claims in recently filed documents that CNSI stated it would perform certain required work, then failed to budget personnel and dollars to do the jobs the contract required.

State officials have said repeatedly that CNSI’s low price tipped the scales toward the Maryland company winning the contract.

See this right here is totally shocking to everybody after we had previously learned that Jindal's appointee to run the State Department of Health and Hospitals, Bruce Greenstein was formerly employed by CNSI and that Jindal officials tried to keep the awarding of this contract secret during Greenstein's legislative confirmation hearing.

The Medicaid contract is among the largest in state government, and CNSI was one of four finalists to handle the job of processing claims from doctors, hospitals and other health-care providers that treat the poor as part of the $6.6 billion-a-year program.

Although the winning bidder was selected weeks ago, agency officials had refused to tell lawmakers, citing a state statute that said the contract award had to first be disclosed to a joint meeting of the health-care committees in the House and Senate. That committee might not meet until after the Legislature adjourns June 23.

That brought a torrent of criticism from senators, including allies of Gov. Bobby Jindal, who accused the administration of stonewalling and called Greenstein's integrity into question.

"It seems like somebody is trying to cover something up," said Sen. Jody Amedee, R-Gonzales.

"We've got to determine whether we trust the integrity of the people before us," said Sen. Robert Kostelka, R-Monroe, the committee's chairman. "And this is why this is so important. You can't serve two masters."

Shortly thereafter, Greenstein excused himself from the witness table to huddle with his top deputies before coming back to the committee to tell them that his old employer had won the contract.

Also Bobby Jindal first emerged on the scene in state government as Governor Foster's head of the Department of Health and Hospitals so we can be reasonably sure he knows which contracts are the big money contracts there.

Also, for more fun, here is a ridiculous cartoon in which the Times-Picayune's Steve Kelley suggests to us that Jindal has come to "slay the dragon" of corruption in Louisiana.