FBI Investigating “Cover Oregon”
It’s about freaking time. And for what it’s worth, so is the HHS Office of the Inspector General – as well as the GAO and at least one Congressional committee.
As most TAH readers probably remember, “Cover Oregon” was that “wonderful” healthcare insurance exchange developed by the state of Oregon. It received $303M in Federal grants.
By mid-December 2013 just under $160M had been spent to “develop” Cover Oregon’s website to allow online application for health insurance. As of April 2014, that website had signed up precisely zero online applicants (approximately 200,000 did manage to sign up via a paper application processes).
Oregon has since announced termination of that website, and that it will use that paragon of excellent function, HealthCare.gov, in the future as it’s healthcare exchange. Those who signed up previously will have to reapply next year.
I’m sure they’ll enjoy working their way through the Federal website. Or maybe they’ll submit a paper application to the Federal government instead – just like tens of thousands of those who tried to apply at HealthCare.gov ended up needing to do. (smile)
It also appears that the folks who were running Cover Oregon may have misled Federal authorities to get that $303M in Federal funding. In such programs, funding is typically provided incrementally, with evidence of progress required to receive the next grant. Multiple sources indicate that Cover Oregon presented an unduly “rosy” picture of progress to Federal authorities to continue receiving Federal grant funding.
The Oregonian has a good article on “Cover Oregon” and why it’s being investigated. IMO, it’s worth reading – again, if you don’t have blood pressure or anger management issues.
Stay tuned. This one could get interesting.
That said, I’m pessimistic that anyone will be held accountable. After all, the FBI is part of the same DoJ that gave us “Fast and Furious”. No one has been held accountable there yet.
That unlawful “escapade” got people killed. Given that fact – and the fact that no one was held accountable – what’s $303M in tax money lost to fraud?
Category: "Your Tax Dollars At Work", Health Care debate, Legal
The ‘funny’ thing is, is that the billboards for CoverOregon are still up.
This is my shocked face:
Not a damn thing will happen. No one will be held responsible or be made to reimburse the feds. Typical government response.
Worst of all, the idiots who did this charade will stay in place in our state gov or get nice retirements from PERS.
Will anyone on the federal government side look at Oregon and say, for a complete failure…we want our $303 million back?
Short answer – NOPE.
Once again…our tax dollars, at “rest”.
Some day, we’ll all look back at this, and all the other stupid stuff going on now, and laugh ourselves silly at the naive millenials who actually thought shit like this would work.
It would be nice to see Kitzhaber do a perp walk over this fiasco… but one of the minions that he threw under the bus will do the time for him…
Injustice Department is on it!
I still can’t figure out how it cost $160M to set up a friggin’ website. I’m gobsmacked to think about it.
Fella, you don’t even want to know what HHS reportedly spent to set up HealthCare.gov. I’ve heard nearly 4x that – and that was last year. And it still isn’t completed.
Next will be some media whitewash and cover-up, after which anyone daring to mention this will be tarred as a “Muckraker” and a “racist” for DARING to dissent with B. Hussein 0bama & Company!!
Too bad I can’t think of a “real” Plaintiffs’ Attorney in Oregon. If he’s not too busy being loved by large animals, rocking back and forth, and/or drooling, I bet he is scheming on how to get a meal ticket out of this fiasco. This makes a bag of potting soil in the handicap spot look like chump change.
I don’t know what to say – but I found some quotes that seem to apply.
1. Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
2. The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.
3. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.
4. The only source of knowledge is experience.
5. A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be.
All courtesy of Albert Einstein
Our current administration has a very big problem with all of these.
Oops, I was still steaming about the Army downsizing so this was posted in the wrong place. Oh shit.
The state of Oregon needs to write a check to the US Treasury for the whole three hundred odd million dollars. Until the money arrives no federal funds should be sent to Oregon for any Federal program whatsoever. The state should have to take as much of that sum as possible from the Medicaid. The Democrats should have to explain to the voters why there will not be any Free healthcare this year. Perhaps even the liberals will have had enough of Progressivism.