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Oregon sues Oracle over failed health care website

By WTOP Staff

JONATHAN J. COOPER
Associated Press

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The state of Oregon filed a lawsuit Friday against Oracle America Inc. and several of its executives over the technology company’s role in creating the troubled website for the state’s online health insurance exchange.

The lawsuit, filed in Marion County Circuit Court in Salem, alleges that Oracle officials lied, breached contracts and engaged in “a pattern of racketeering activity.”

Oracle was the largest technology contractor working on Oregon’s health insurance enrollment website, known as Cover Oregon. The public website was never launched, forcing the state to hire hundreds of workers to process paper applications by hand. The website’s failure became a political problem to Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber, who is running for re-election.

A related project to modernize functions for social services also was scrapped. The state paid Oracle $240 million for both projects.

“Today’s lawsuit clearly explains how egregiously Oracle has disserved Oregonians and our state agencies,” Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, a Democrat, said in a statement. “Over the course of our investigation, it became abundantly clear that Oracle repeatedly lied and defrauded the state.”

In addition to the company, the state’s lawsuit individually names six executives, including Oracle Corp. President and Chief Financial Officer Safra Catz, and Mythics Inc., which acted as a middleman between Oracle and the state in early stages of the project.

The state is seeking damages as high as $240 million and penalties as high as $480 million for each allegation of wrongdoing. The state could collect damages only once but a judge could impose multiple penalties against multiple parties, said Kristina Edmunson, a spokeswoman for the attorney general.

In a statement, Oracle called the lawsuit “a desperate attempt to deflect blame from Cover Oregon and the governor for their failures to manage a complex IT project.”

“The complaint is a fictional account of the Oregon health care project,” the company’s statement said. “Oracle is confident that the truth — and Oracle — will prevail in this action.”

Oracle filed its own lawsuit Aug. 8 in federal court alleging breach of contract and seeking payment of more than $23 million in disputed bills. The Redwood City, California, company blames Oregon for the website’s failure, saying the state had incompetent and indecisive staff.

Oracle also faults Oregon’s decision not to hire a systems integrator, which acts as a sort of general contractor to integrate various technology components. The state’s lawsuit says it was Oracle employees who persuaded the state to forego hiring a systems integrator. Oracle provided project managers and maintained control over the technical development, the state says.

The suit alleges that Oracle employees lied about the capabilities of their software components as early as 2009, when the state first put out word that it was seeking a vendor to modernize the Department of Human Services computer systems. Sales staff said Oracle software could perform 95 percent of state’s requirements with minimal coding, but it in fact required substantial customization.

The lawsuit alleges that an employee falsified a demonstration of the website’s capabilities for the Cover Oregon board more than three months before the website was supposed to launch. Oracle officials continually lied about progress on the site as recently as February, the lawsuit alleges.

Oracle presented false bills to the state, seeking payment for work that employees were doing for other states, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit relies in part on statements from at least one former Oracle employee who is not named.

“Today, after months of investigation, the attorney general’s findings go well beyond disappointing and incomplete work,” Kitzhaber said in a statement. “The complaint filed contains serious new allegations of fraud, deceit, and corruption by Oracle.”

Despite the exchange’s technology woes, about 454,500 Oregonians have enrolled in coverage through Cover Oregon using the hybrid process. An estimated 97,000 of those enrolled in private health plans, while about 357,500 enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s version of Medicaid.

The state decided to stop building the Oracle website earlier this year and transitioned to the federally run enrollment website.

The FBI and the federal Government Accountability Office are also investigating Oregon’s exchange problems.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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