Get immediate access to organizations and people Both the city and county of Dallas have ended their contract with embattled Honu Management Group, which ran the largest public COVID-19 testing site, The Dallas Morning News reports. Dallas County, meanwhile, has not paid any portion of its contract, said Darryl Martin, the countys administrator. Anyone interested in donating or volunteering at the center can go to . The decision less than two months after Honu began running drive-through testing for the city and county came after local officials began investigating the companys $14.6 million contract. The Allegan County Health Department will hold drive-through events for residents to get tested for COVID-19 every Wednesday 1-7 p.m beginning Wednesday, Sept. 22. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins has reported 787 new COVID-19 cases and 10 deaths on Tuesday, though 550 of them are backlogged cases from earlier this year. Thats raising questions about why Washington state did not warn other states about the companys officers, who are linked to a long-running health care fraud investigation by the Washington State Department of Health. A new internal report by Dallas County's health department obtained by The News found that wait times for results from local Honu sites have increased markedly. Neither the Department of Health, the 2-1-1 call center, nor the COVID-19 questions hotline are able to inform patients of their test results. They have secured multi-million dollar public contracts in Texas, Missouri, and Michigan. The latest information is available atMichigan.gov/CoronavirusandCDC.gov/Coronavirus. When youre in a crisis, this is a time when you go with only the most reliable companies and the companies you know are going to deliver.. The city said it did not know that Honu, under a prior name, had been mentioned in a Washington state investigation of a kickback scheme involving podiatrists and prescription foot creams. The doctors then allegedly received a share of insurance reimbursements a kickback. In mid-June, Anderson vouched for Honu and told the city the company had tested more than 500 of his workers, according to notes from the citys phone call with Anderson. Dallas suspended its contract with Honu after it heard more stories like Vanessas, and a study showed that Honu was taking an average of eight days to provide test results at one test site. . Only 237 of the reported new cases are from recent testing. The city and county of Dallas end their $14 million contract with Honu Management Group, who ran COVID-19 testing sites. They will be phased in as needed as the National Guard is still providing testing assistance. He said the pharmacy that DA Medical worked with was billing patients through another pharmacy and that arrangement was not disclosed to him. Has your company been a party to litigation against the state of Michigan? Click HERE to find a testing location near you. Materials for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Care Providers, COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Guidance and Educational Resources, Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities, https://dev.michigan.local/som/json?sc_device=json, State awards six contracts for COVID-19 vaccination to high-risk populations and settings across Michigan, Go to Materials for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Care Providers, Direct Care Workers: Communications Toolkit, Go to COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Guidance and Educational Resources, Go to Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities, Go to COVID-19 Therapeutics Information Page, Shelters, transient communities, other vulnerable populations. Even though the Washington State Department of Health has thousands of pages of investigative files on DA Medical Group, and its CEO Devin Thornton, those records have been not been made public as the department investigation stretches beyond three years. For questions about test results, call Honu at 866-809-8282. But state DOH records allege that Thornton and DA Medical orchestrated the kickback scheme using a corrupt online pharmacy and by soliciting local doctors to write the prescriptions. Im not saying that a company that fails on a contract should be avoided and basically blackballed from ever getting contracts again, but you have to be very careful, Moulton said. Honu first pitched its services to the city of Dallas in April, officials said. For questions on test. People are friendly and accommodating! He said he was unsure why only 50 test kits were purchased and that he would look into it. By Wednesday, it was 3,052, and 3,246 on Thursday. Dallas County is ending its contract with the company that runs one of the largest COVID-19 testing sites in North Texas. Please write in "COVID-19 under the TEST REQUESTED section. The Texas Tribune has more. Records show state investigators discovered that the pharmacies sent patients boxes of foot creams, gels, adhesive patches and other medications, and overbilled patients insurance companies -- in one case, $50,000 for drugs that a patient was prescribed for toe pain and a plantar wart. The second omicron variant comes into focus. "We welcome the audits as an opportunity to affirm who we are as a company.". "The vendor was not required to comment on events that were pending," Sutfin said. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Anderson confirmed Honu did perform the work, including sending staff to Andersons business to test employees. Dressed in black scrubs and orange Nikes, Thornton talked of how he grew up in Hawaii, ended up in Washington state and went from working in medical sales to forming his own healthcare management company in 2008. Please check and confirm the following: "They began testing on their own on Aug.14 at a skilled nursing facility in Detroit. Previously Holly reported for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Ventura County (Calif.) Star and the Antioch (Calif.) Ledger Dispatch. Parkland Health and Hospital System will take over Honus testing sites at the end of the month. After a positive test result, you may continue to test positive for some time after. Every single penny I have ever made in this company has always gone back into healthcare, whether thats supporting clinics, or supporting patients or getting patients treated at the lowest possible cost. I think its pretty crooked. The company took over public testing after the city and county stopped working with the federal government because it was taking too long to return results to residents. Given the states prior issues with NovaDX, the city and county of Dallas asked Honu to work with a different lab. It breaks my heart when people try to abuse the system that is designed for patient care, Thornton said. DALLAS A Washington state-based company is drawing increasing scrutiny as it secures publicly-funded COVID-19 testing contracts across the county. Testing is free and available to members of the community with or without COVID-19 symptoms. But last week, Dallas County canceled its contract with Honu for COVID-19 testing because officials said test results were taking as long asseven days to come back. With one of them, at the American Airlines Center, set to close at the end of June, local officials said they needed a contractor who could take over the massive operation, from staffing the site and swabbing patients to testing the specimens and notifying people of their results. To make an appointment for a COVID test, call: 325-430-7603 or 325-643-3793. Michigan's contract with Honu, which took effect July 1, stipulates that the company mustprovide COVID-19 specimen collection, testing and reporting for high-risk populations in Michigan through Jan. 31, 2021. This week . It wasn't until six weeks into its contract with the state of Michigan, that Honu began testing people here. 247 0 obj <>stream 35 %%EOF Leaders of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, in South Dakota, told The News they bought 615 test kits from Honu in late April for more than $88,000. The company is using California-based Nova DX to process its tests. endstream endobj startxref Thornton said that once notified of the issue, DA Medical did its own investigation, fired the pharmacy it had worked with, and is cooperating with state investigators. Recovery Mobile Clinic, Regions 9 and 10, community mobile sites; and shelters and vulnerable populations - $1,400,000. Get the latest coronavirus and public health updates. For instance, Honu claimed it had experience providing testing for a Native American tribe in South Dakota. A Dallas Morning News investigation earlier this month found that the city missed potential warning flags in Honus application. There are several variants of the virus circulating in our state, including the concerning Delta variant, and we know the vaccine is our best protection against COVID-19.". An agency spokesman did not return requests from The News on Tuesday seeking comment about the status of the contracts. In the last week, Honu alsoconducted coronavirus testing atHealthSource Saginaw, Sutfin said. Test results from state sites will be provided via email within 2-3 days, and the public is reminded to check their junk/spam email folders for the emailed test results. For more help with the HONU results, email Covid19Help@honumg.com or call 844-778-2455. For now, Honu is still free to vie for millions of dollars in COVID testing contracts. Earlier this month, commissioners questioned the companys long turnaround times and the accuracy of the test results. Honu began seeking publicly-funded testing contracts in the emerging world of COVID-19, stating the company could setup operations and deliver results faster than competitive bidders. endstream endobj 217 0 obj <>/Metadata 8 0 R/Pages 214 0 R/StructTreeRoot 13 0 R/Type/Catalog/ViewerPreferences<>>> endobj 218 0 obj <. Date of Birth / / mm / dd / yyyy. . Has bidder ever been debarred, suspended, or disqualified from bidding or contracting with any entity, including the state of Michigan? CareATC provided the staffing while Honu said it provided lab testing and protective gear. When the tribe used the kits to test 61 frontline workers, over half came back positive, sending a panic through our tribe, health director Skyla Fast Horse said. HHS-OIG general policy is to neither confirm or deny the existence of an investigation, Health and Human Services spokesperson Yvonne Gamble wrote in an email reply to KING 5s question about whether its investigators will take action. UnitedHealth Group will adhere to all federal, state and local regulations as well as all client requirements and will obtain necessary proof of vaccination, and . OakBend Medical Group The initial criteria for the COVID-19 testing will require a Telehealth visit. Thornton did answer questions from the Dallas Morning News. 1042 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[]/Index[1023 32]/Info 1022 0 R/Length 102/Prev 654034/Root 1024 0 R/Size 1055/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream Visit Healthcare, statewide, community mobile sites; seasonal agriculture; and shelters and vulnerable populations - $7,000,000. KaiHonua. At a meeting Tuesday, county commissioners raised concern with lack of oversight. Testing for a national. Introduction. City officials bypassed the usual competitive bidding rules in an effort to quickly provide testing to fight the coronavirus pandemic. receive a COVID-19 rapid PCR test. American Airlines, flight attendants file for mediation during contract negotiations, New Uptown office tower lands second major lease, Years after North Texas bid for Amazons second headquarters, retail giant halts plan, Mesquite to become the site of new 2,500-home community, North Texas builders see influx of activity in new year, but challenges persist, Mark Wahlberg pours tequila for fans at Dallas restaurant during thunderstorm, The Cowboys are closer than you think to a total makeover at running back, 12 Dallas-Fort Worth restaurants that have closed in 2023, Ex-Cowboys OC Kellen Moore opens up on Dallas departure, shows gratitude for Mike McCarthy, Dallas Cowboys focused on adding another dynamic offensive weapon. Conventional diagnostic tests for the novel coronavirus may give false-negative results about 30% of the time, meaning people with an active COVID-19 infection still test negative for the disease . Honu Management Group, statewide, homebound; community mobile sites; neighborhood testing sites; seasonal agriculture; and shelters and vulnerable populations - $20,000,000. NtU^s This was in partnership with the National Guard, HONU Management Group, and the city of Detroit.
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