With just minutes to spare and hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, representatives of Tufts Health Plan unexpectedly found themselves stuck in bread-and-milk traffic, reports WPRI 12 in Rhode Island.
“Representatives encountered unforeseen traffic impacts during the 0.8-mile trip to the Department of Administration, arising out of the high volume of supermarket customers preparing for the forecasted blizzard,” company officials later explained in state documents reviewed by the television news station.
It was around midday on Jan. 28, and the Tufts team was frantically trying to get out of the Whole Foods plaza on North Main Street in Providence to submit their bid for a massive state contract. They had gone there seeking help from Staples to compile PDFs for a packet of documents that were due by 1 p.m. at the administrative buildings just opposite the state house.
Tufts ended up submitting the material two minutes after the deadline, effectively disqualifying them from bidding to keep a portion of the state’s contract for Medicaid managed care. The entire contract is worth $7 billion over five years, making it one of the most lucrative contracts awarded by Rhode Island’s state government.
The state has rejected Tuft’s appeal. Tuft’s loss may turn out to benefit other major payers in the state. Read more.
