Company asks state to withhold details of its contract with firm linked to Ford

By MICHAEL CASS
The Tennessean
02/24/05

            The company that administers TennCare's dental program asked state officials yesterday to keep confidential its answers to questions about its relationship with a controversial subcontractor with ties to state Sen. John Ford.

            Responding to a request from the TennCare Bureau, Doral Dental of Tennessee filed a report yesterday afternoon on its former contract with Managed Care Services Group. The latter company, based in Pennsylvania and run by Ronald R. Dobbins, worked as a lobbyist and consultant for Doral until earlier this month.

            Doral said it fired Dobbins' company Feb. 8 after learning that the firm had paid Ford more than $237,000 in 2002 and 2003. Ford sits on the TennCare Oversight Committee and two other panels that guide TennCare policy.

            The payments to Ford raise questions about whether he has a conflict of interest, although it is not known what he did for the money.

            But Doral attorney Wallace W. Dietz of the Nashville law firm Bass, Berry & Sims wrote that privately owned Doral and its parent company could be hurt by the public release of information about its ties to Dobbins.

            ''Doral Dental and its affiliates are often involved in competitive bid procedures and Doral Dental endeavors to keep its proprietary information confidential,'' Dietz wrote.

            TennCare spokeswoman Marilyn Elam said the agency's lawyers would continue working today to determine if Doral is entitled to confidentiality under state statutes.

            Several news agencies, including The Tennessean, had requested copies of Doral's report under state public records laws.

            TennCare Director J.D. Hickey asked Doral late last week for a copy of its contract with Managed Care Services Group and an explanation of the relationship and any payments to the firm made with TennCare funds. The company provided the information but has asked that it be kept private.

            Dietz's two-page letter to Hickey — the only part of Doral's response that was released last night — does say that Doral and Managed Care Services Group entered into a contract in December 2001 ''for the provision of certain consulting services described in the agreement including new business opportunities, development of existing business, communications, general promotions, marketing and other duties.''

            By that time, state officials had started talking about separating the TennCare dental program from the rest of TennCare to make it more effective and restore dentists' confidence. Previously, dental care for more than 600,000 enrollees under age 21 was administered by TennCare managed-care organizations, and the number of dentists willing to treat TennCare patients had shrunk significantly.

            The state requested proposals to run the dental program in early 2002. Only Doral and one other firm, Delta Dental of Tennessee, submitted proposals, and Doral won the nearly three-year, $18 million contract, starting Sept. 1, 2002. Doral's agreement with Managed Care Services Group was amended for unspecified reasons the same day, according to Dietz's letter.

            Doral's TennCare contract will expire June 30.

            Meanwhile, a Memphis managed-care organization has told state officials that it has no formal ties to Dobbins' firm.

            OmniCare Health Plan Inc. told the Department of Commerce and Insurance that it ''has no business relationship'' with Managed Care Services Group or ''Managed Care Services Group 1,'' the name Ford listed as a source of income on his tax returns for 2002 and 2003.

            Ford also is listed in Pennsylvania records as the only partner in a company called Managed Care Services Group. Dobbins' home address is listed as that company's address.

            Dobbins was chief executive officer of OmniCare's parent company, Detroit-based United American Healthcare Corp., until his resignation in 1998. He also served on OmniCare's board until then.

            Osbie Howard, OmniCare's chief executive officer, said yesterday that his company hadn't had a relationship with Dobbins since 1998.

            ''There is no connection with Mr. Dobbins whatsoever,'' Howard said from Memphis.

            Howard said OmniCare had no business relationship with Ford, either. He said he and the Memphis Democrat had been friends for at least 35 years, but ''other than that, I don't have any comment on his affairs.''

            Lisa Jordan, assistant commissioner for TennCare oversight at the Department of Commerce and Insurance, said she had not decided whether any additional investigation would be necessary.

            Michael Cass can be reached at 259-8838 or mcass@tennessean.com.

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