DeSantis objects to new state Medicaid contract
Company under investigation for handling of Florida’s unemployment site
Gov. Ron DeSantis doesn’t want the company under investigation for its handling of Florida’s troubled unemployment website to get a new lucrative state Medicaid contract potentially worth more than $110 million.
But DeSantis said Friday he doesn’t have the power to intervene under Florida law.
The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration announced earlier this week it intends to award a multiyear contract to Deloitte to modernize the state’s Medicaid data system. That’s the company that designed Florida’s CONNECT unemployment website.
“It would be my preference that they [Deloitte] not get anything,” DeSantis said in Orlando. “At the same time, there is a process, unfortunately, that has to play out. … I can’t just go in and void it legally.”
DeSantis said Deloitte’s bid is also facing a protest, and the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity — which oversees Florida’s unemployment system — has provided a negative review of the company’s performance on the CONNECT website.
Katie Strickland, a spokeswoman for the Agency for Health Care Administration, declined to provide details on the bid protest, citing pending litigation. Deloitte scored better than four other bidders — Accenture LLP, IBM Corp., Optum Government Solutions Inc. and
CMA Consulting Services.
Deloitte’s contract with the state has not been finalized. A Deloitte company spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
DeSantis’ comments are the latest setback for Deloitte, which has been under fire for its work designing Florida’s unemployment system.
DeSantis ordered the state’s chief inspector general to examine the nearly $78 million state contract for the system, which went online in 2013 during former Gov. Rick Scott’s administration. Deloitte company officials say they designed the site to specifications, and the state signed off on the work.
DeSantis said Deloitte succeeded in the latest bid because it offered a lower price than its competitors to do the project, which involves creating a “data
warehouse” to serve as a central repository of Medicaid information.
“They just dropped the price by so much that under the current law or however they make those decisions — their hands were tied,” DeSantis said.
Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University, said state agencies are not required to strictly consider price when awarding contracts and can consider other factors as well, including a
company’s prior performance. Ultimately, agencies must decide which proposal constitutes the best value for taxpayers, Jarvis said.
“Bidding is an art,” he said. “It is not a science.”
The bid’s instructions state that cost proposals would not be considered during the evaluation phase and would instead be reviewed during negotiations. Evaluators at the agency instead considered how the companies would execute the project, along
with other factors that included past performance.
The instructions stipulate the top two scoring companies can enter into negotiations with the state. Deloitte received the top score and Accenture finished second.
Democrats blasted the DeSantis administration for the announcement that it intended to award the contract to Deloitte. Senate Democratic Minority Leader Audrey Gibson called on DeSantis to rescind
the contract.
Jarvis said the governor isn’t allowed to meddle in the process, but he can use his bully pulpit.
“He could shame Deloitte so Deloitte either gives back the contract or gives all sorts of public assurances that it will do a good job,” Jarvis said.