The site, reported by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle (8/24/14) as having never been released to the general public, cost millions to set up. On August 8, Oracle - based in Redwood City, California - filed a lawsuit in federal court against the state of Oregon alleging the state breached its contract. Oracle, in its lawsuit, sought repayment of some $23 million in disputed bills over the allegedly failed project.A few weeks later, Oregon turned around and shot back, filing its own lawsuit against Oracle in Marion County Circuit Court in Salem. For its part, the state is accusing Oracle of making false statements, breached contracts and engaging in “a pattern of racketeering activity.”
The state is seeking more than $200 million in damages, and earlier this month started a legal kitty that is funded at the $2 million mark, according to the Statesman Journal (9/14/14).
As has been the case with other states throughout the US, Oregon is not insulated from wrongly denied disability claims and other complaints with regard to short-term or long-term disability (LTD), or health insurance in general. Either disability claimants have issue with their own insurance providers or the underwriter responsible for managing and undertaking on an employer’s behalf, LTD coverage for employees.
It all looks good in the fine print. However, insurers have a tendency to deny coverage first and ask questions later, invoking various stonewalling tactics that are allegedly designed to frustrate the claimant to the point where they will throw up their hands and retreat.
Such instances have been fodder for many a long-term denied disability lawsuit.
READ MORE OREGON DENIED DISABILITY LEGAL NEWS
Accusations are flying from both camps.
The Affordable Care Act is an attempt to make health insurance available to more Americans, and in this case Oregonians. Whether Cover Oregon will have any effect on Oregon long-term disability fraud insurance and other hassles Oregonians have had with their LTD, short-term disability or health insurance providers, remains to be seen.
For the short term, Oregon wrongly denied disability claims are expected to continue unabated.
READER COMMENTS
Quint Ferguson
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For example, earlier this year state COO Michael Jordan chaired a steering committee that hired Porland-based DMH Research to perform an "environmental scan" at the State's Data Center. When first announced 1 year earlier, it was to be a 3rd party audit and investigation, then it became a survey while at the same time the COO went AWOL on this matter (the same time, Oct 2013, that Cover Oregon was to go live. Upon the COO's return to the matter 5 months later, the effort was now called an "environmental scan" almost as though the COO was looking for contaminated soil at some industrial waste site.
So what is the COO attempting to hide?
Below is a response to just one question in the "environmental scan". Numerous employees saw this same response and said, He (the author) pretty much nailed it on the head and it looks like he didn't miss anything."
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Below is a response to one of the COO sponsored “environmental scan” questions from March/April 2014, "What do you like least about your job?"
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(Response abbreviated to meet 3000 char max)
That there is no adult supervision. For example, as head of DAS/ETS, rather than recuse themselves the COO endeavors to intentionally diminish our many allegations down to a voluntary “survey”. A state rep recently turned our matters over to the FBI. Additionally, other authorities are watching this story unfold. Some staff are recording survey responses for possible future reference.
That DAS is a hostile workplace. For example, allegations include but not limited to:
-Retaliation against whistleblowers
-Sexual orientation & racial discrimination
-Mgmt intentionally destroy/cripple careers
-Harassment, including against those exercising FMLA / OHLA rights
-Hostile work environment
-Slander/libel
-Mgmt conspires to commit wrongdoing
-Intentionally fraudulent disciplinary letters of warning
-Intimidation, bullying
-Managers discipline non-direct reporting staff
-Unfair workplace standards
-Abuse of authority
-Mgmt conspires to falsely charge whistleblowers/undesirables
-Team leads intentionally sabotage staff’s work
-Misuse of state resources
-Solicit fraudulent investigations to "look for dirt" on whistleblowers
-Relieve undesirable staff of all duties - left with nothing to do,
-Promote unqualified staff multiple levels overnight
-COO, DAS HR, Labor Relations, BOLI, others intentionally ignore evidence, eyewitness testimony, refuse to take appropriate action
-Authorities routinely cover, protect, reward wrongdoers
-Nepotism
-Non-technical staff promoted to highest technical levels.
-Wrongdoers spy on staff emails and files
-Union conspires with DAS, routinely misrepresents staff
-Multiple major staff moves. Many more than 10 moves
-Multiple special projects sequester managers, hires others as interim managers skirting policies
-Theft of public funds – millions
-Mail fraud
-State/SEIU forcibly extort monies (union dues) from some staff (no dues no work)
-Racketeering
1 staff email said, “One of these days, an employee death will occur as a result of management's negligence and unfair treatment of employees.” Recent blow up between 4 staff sent one bystander running out of bldg and resigned within 2 months.
About COO & this “survey”:
-COO, governor, union, others knew about many allegations since at least 01/13 yet no action and no sense of urgency
-Min 52 of 200+ staff resigned in past 18 months were intentionally NOT solicited for valued participation
-Fear of retaliation is so great many refuse to take survey
-Many refuse to participate in ANY activity involving untrustworthy SEIU union
-COO said without specifics they can’t take corrective action. Yet DAS HR already has many of our accounts / evidence but refused to act on any of it
-COO said that all names / specifics will be scrubbed from published reports (possibly raw data too)
-Wrongdoers continue to receive paychecks, protection, promotions, etc. as though there is no adult supervision and union has no impact
-Survey is a whitewash
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At present, there are 4 lawsuits pending within just this one division charging various forms of gross mismanagement. There is also strong evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
Everything the state of Oregon does is to run interfernce, protect, and reward other wrongdoers, while spending millons of taxpayer dollars posturing simply to give the appearance they are acting on behalf of its citizenry.
The Cover Oregon fiasco is far from the only boondoggle at the state. Besides these stories that make it to the media are only the fractures of what some deem to be an illegitimate state government.