Remember the O'Dowds? Husband Kevin went from Christie's chief of staff to Cooper University Health Care, which caused a conflict of interest because wife Mary is the state health commissioner. Well, as of the end of the month wife Mary will be joining Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance. I don't know enough about her new position to determine if it solves their conflict of interest problem, but here's a conflict of interest problem Mary created all by herself:
Quote:
NJ Spotlight.com: Persistent violations of state regulations by Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center has led a hospital labor union official to accuse the state Department of Health of failing to hold Meadowlands, a for-profit hospital, accountable. That was flatly denied by Department of Health Commissioner Mary E. O’Dowd, who says the state’s oversight of the hospital has been intense and that a series of fines against the hospital have set a precedent for future enforcement actions...
Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE) union officials have demanded stricter action against the hospital for several years, following Meadowlands’ conversion from nonprofit to for-profit status...HPAE Chief of Staff Jeanne Otersen yesterday renewed the union’s call for a state-appointed manager. Otersen added: “I think we’ve seen under the Christie administration, less enforcement, less oversight, and a hands-off regulatory approach — and we would disagree with that (approach) in general.”
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If it can be shown that Mrs. O'Dowd has been tailoring her regulatory oversight in favor of for-profit medical systems like the Meadowlands Hospital with Christie's blessing, it could explain her sudden departure.