GUEST POST by Rep. Janet Trujillo (Idaho Legislative District 33) —
On October 16, 2013 Frank Chan resigned from the Your Health Idaho board to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. The same day the exchange awarded his company a no-bid contract worth up to $375,000. The story broke when associated press reporter John Miller posted his story Idaho insurance exchange official quits, gets deal. Chan's company, Boise-based Applied Computing, will serve as the exchange's information technology consultant.
In the Associated Press story Amy Dowd, Your Health Idaho executive director, said she gave Chan the contract without advertising it under an "interim procurement policy." While the policy hasn't gotten final board approval, it now allows her to quickly sign contracts without seeking potential interest from other vendors."
Members of the board commented the award of the contract was a surprise. Why is this such a surprise? Earlier this year Idaho's Legislature exempted the exchange from state procurement rules, allowing its leaders to largely set its own policies on deals with private vendors.
The governor's office didn't sign off on the contract. "Our role was to accept Mr. Chan's resignation before a contract was offered," a governor spokesman said. Earlier this year, Chan was appointed by Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter to help oversee the Internet marketplace. Should the governor's office have objected to such a proposal?
Amy Dowd has said. "Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of time." I disagree with this statement. The Idaho State Exchange has allowed the Federal Exchange to take over exchange functions in order to have the time to get up and running. There is no need to award contracts without following the competitive bidding process.
Monday evening prior to the Tuesday morning board meeting Frank Chan canceled his contract since it has faced a lot of criticism from many legislators (including myself) and the public. The debate over the contracts is sure to be a major discussion this coming session. Not only will the contracts be discussed but so will the fact that the exchange is allowed to raise fees without oversight. The exchange's management has already considered raising the fee it assesses on insurance purchases from the current 1.5 percent up to 2.6 percent within the next two years.
My recommendations, the board should recuse Frank Chan's company from bidding during the competitive bidding process. The state exchange is operating under a "draft" procurement policy. The board must finalize this policy immediately. Due to poor decision making, many are calling for Amy Dowd to resign her position.
Complete lack of accountability is one of the many reasons I chose to vote "NO" on implementation of the state exchange, the citizens deserve nothing less than transparency and confidence in government agencies including the exchange.
On October 16, 2013 Frank Chan resigned from the Your Health Idaho board to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. The same day the exchange awarded his company a no-bid contract worth up to $375,000. The story broke when associated press reporter John Miller posted his story Idaho insurance exchange official quits, gets deal. Chan's company, Boise-based Applied Computing, will serve as the exchange's information technology consultant.
In the Associated Press story Amy Dowd, Your Health Idaho executive director, said she gave Chan the contract without advertising it under an "interim procurement policy." While the policy hasn't gotten final board approval, it now allows her to quickly sign contracts without seeking potential interest from other vendors."
Members of the board commented the award of the contract was a surprise. Why is this such a surprise? Earlier this year Idaho's Legislature exempted the exchange from state procurement rules, allowing its leaders to largely set its own policies on deals with private vendors.
The governor's office didn't sign off on the contract. "Our role was to accept Mr. Chan's resignation before a contract was offered," a governor spokesman said. Earlier this year, Chan was appointed by Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter to help oversee the Internet marketplace. Should the governor's office have objected to such a proposal?
Amy Dowd has said. "Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of time." I disagree with this statement. The Idaho State Exchange has allowed the Federal Exchange to take over exchange functions in order to have the time to get up and running. There is no need to award contracts without following the competitive bidding process.
Monday evening prior to the Tuesday morning board meeting Frank Chan canceled his contract since it has faced a lot of criticism from many legislators (including myself) and the public. The debate over the contracts is sure to be a major discussion this coming session. Not only will the contracts be discussed but so will the fact that the exchange is allowed to raise fees without oversight. The exchange's management has already considered raising the fee it assesses on insurance purchases from the current 1.5 percent up to 2.6 percent within the next two years.
My recommendations, the board should recuse Frank Chan's company from bidding during the competitive bidding process. The state exchange is operating under a "draft" procurement policy. The board must finalize this policy immediately. Due to poor decision making, many are calling for Amy Dowd to resign her position.
Complete lack of accountability is one of the many reasons I chose to vote "NO" on implementation of the state exchange, the citizens deserve nothing less than transparency and confidence in government agencies including the exchange.
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