UMass vs CMS

Suit: UMass cheated on bid for prison med
By Casey Ross
Boston Herald Reporter
Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Top officials in the Patrick administration are facing a legal battle over alleged improprieties in the awarding of a lucrative $315 million contract to provide medical care to state prison inmates.
The lawsuit, filed by an unsuccessful bidder in Suffolk Superior Court yesterday, alleges the contract was unfairly granted to the University of Massachusetts Medical School after school officials sent an "inappropriate" letter to push their case with top administration officials.
The officials named in the suit include Public Safety Secretary Kevin Burke, acting Corrrection Commissioner James Bender and UMass President Jack Wilson.
"The facts of the case create a very strong inference of improper influence," said attorney Dean Richlin, who represents Correctional Medical Services, a St. Louis-based competitor for the prison contract. "This process was fair and open to a point, and then it took a 180-degree turn."
The contract, among the largest prison medical contracts in the nation, was awarded to UMass Medical despite an evaluation by state officials that found that Correctional Medical Services would provide the "best value" to the state.
It also came after a top official at the Department of Correction wrote an e-mail stating that UMass violated procurement terms by sending a May 17 memo to Patrick administration officials to make their case for the contract.
The lawsuit charges that the memo, which was copied to Gov. Deval Patrick and Lt. Gov. Tim Murray, was based on confidential documents improperly obtained by the medical school.
But state officials noted that Correctional Medical Services has filed similar protests before.
"Following a fair and open procurement process, the Department of Correction awarded the contract to the vendor whom it determined would provide the best value for the commonwealth," DOC spokeswoman Diane Wiffin said.
Officials at UMass Medical School, which has held the medical services contract since 2002, said in a statement, "We take with more than a grain of salt the comments of an out-of-state . . . unsuccessful bidder that seeks, at the eleventh hour, to challenge the commitment of UMass Medical School to our mission."