Is Navigant the next Fleishman-Hillard?
For those of you thinking this sounds earily familiar, there is a reason. A snippet from AP story:The county Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to have the county auditor-controller and the Department of Health Services review billing by Navigant Consulting Inc. on work performed at King/Drew. The auditors were to submit a status report in two weeks.
Last week, a review of Navigant's billing found that it inflated its expenses by double-billing airfares and charging for air travel unrelated to the hospital.
The county is paying the company $15 million for a one-year contract to fix problems at King/Drew, which has been accused of lapses in care that contributed to patient deaths.
So far it is only "improper billing" being blamed on the accounting department, but one must wonder what the county auditors will find. Something tells me there is a LOT more to this than we are hearing at this point. Where there is smoke, there usually is fire.
Included in Tuesday's Sup's Board Actions are these King/Drew tidbits:
Report scheduled on the County’s affiliation with Drew University (King/Drew Medical Center), and contingency plan if university loses its accreditation. (Item 31) CONTINUED 2 WEEKS BY HEALTH SERVICES
Report requested on dual track contingency plan with firm timelines to reform King/Drew Medical Center in the event accreditation/state licensing is not reinstated. (Item 32) CONTINUED 2 WEEKS BY HEALTH SERVICES
Looks like some people have about two weeks to circle the wagons...
Posted by Anonymous @ 9/28/2005 12:05:00 AM
16 Comments:
This overbilling will make F-H's tab look like pennies in comparison.
And there's NO way to cut through the crap on this kind of nebulous "consulting" -- almost NO hard deliverables to scale the charges against. They can claim they "thought" about the problems for 4000 hours x $$$ hourly rate.
You guys are slow on the uptake. Navigant also advised Gov. Davis on electricity in 2001.
I want to see if they gave $$$$ to Antonio and the County Supervisors (in particular Burke and Molina)in 2005 for their political campaigns?
Navigant is just the tip of the iceberg for the County Department of Health Services. Their audit and enforcement departments are totally controlled by the political whims of the Supervisors. Gloria Molina operates the county health inspectors as her own gestapo. One restuarant in East L.A. owned by a person that Molina perceived to be a politcal opponent was raided and inspected over 40 times in 2003. All on the public record, even the investigators who visited the site said it was ridiculous and that Sachi Hamai, their boss, was just carrying out Gloria's vendettas. It's funny how this same Sachi Hamai pulled the rug out from any investigations regarding Community Health Foundation of East Los Angeles. A $40 million a year operation that all of a sudden went under. Molina's husband, her staff's family, Antonio's sister and brother in law were all on the payroll. What happened to all that money?
Navigant is a hell of a lot more dangerous than some flak-house that runs meetings and puts out releases for one city department. This is one of the county's biggest bungles in like, forever. If heads don't roll in the Board of Sups superstructure then there is no justice or accountability.
I notice one other little subtle but important detail. This information came from the AP and NOT the LA Times or Daily News
Is this the sign that our newspapers are being biased towards not doing the reports and REAL investigations that they're supposed to do and Not inuendos from Political strategists?
Because if they did do a report, the public would have Molina and Villariagosa's heads
Molina must be incarcerated.
Av's sister must be incarcerated.
Molina's husband must be incarcerated.
Where is the justice with crooks like these running the streets?
Think there's a jail cell big enough for Molina?
Yeah, she'll fit. Thank god she's only 4'11 any taller she'll need two cells
They can flip her and carry her into the cell like a 2x4. But she'll have to do everything laying on her side because her height is the shortest dimension to her.
I saw Molina once at a store with her son. Her son looked upset when some shoppers went up to her and sais, "Your that lady that comes out on channel 35 on cable, right?"
First of all, if you are going to be critical of Gloria Molina then criticize her for her positions and actions -- not her weight. It's really childish.
Second, she doesn't even have a son so you clearly don't know anything.
Molina and the rest of the Board should be criticized because they have supported and continue to support an idiot as the health director. For that they should all be blamed.
It is time for new leadership at the Dept of Health. It is an important role and the whiney, weak, cowering chicken who "leads" it now must go.
Can't believe not one head rolled over King Drew...
and all the false billing.
This will be a piece of cake for Navigant they have already turned in false billing.
Which Supervisors have received money from them?
Follow the $$$$$$$$$$$$.
You seriously overestimate the Dupervisors if you think that they need to be bought to give away the County treasury (and health system). They are so dumb, they'll do it for free.
It is time for a change on the Board. They act like royalty and have about the same IQ as an multi-generational inbreds.
The health system is collapsing. At least take that away and give it to an oversight body that actually can oversee a complex operation with a degree of competency.
So why didn't the nimwit voters expand the Board of Supervisors when they had the chance? They used that stupid "extra layer of bureaucracy" argument in their campaigns and the voters bought it. As though it would be a bad thing. How could nobody see it was all about them losing power.
The Sups hire firms like Navigant to put a layer of smoke between themselves and their accountability. Think back to the many Times' articles about King Drew, and how many times did the individual Supes say really stupid things like, 'this can't go on", and "someone must be accountable" ? They are inept and uncaring politicians in the worst sense of the word, and should back off, leaving the committed and qualified professionals of the Health Department to do their work.
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