A special grand jury looking into a now-canceled $200 million state Medicaid contract has expired, but the state attorney general’s office says the investigation is ongoing.
Gov. Bobby Jindal’s former health secretary Bruce Greenstein has been indicted on nine perjury charges in the case. Assistant Attorney General David Caldwell tells The Associated Press his office continues its probe but will start running into time limits for bringing further charges later this year.
The Jindal administration voided the contract with CNSI in 2013 and has accused Greenstein, a former CNSI vice president, of inappropriate contact with the company throughout the bid process. Greenstein has been charged with lying during his sworn testimony to a state Senate committee and to the grand jury. He’s pleaded not guilty and said he did nothing wrong.
In light of the CNSI contract being voided, lawmakers in December signed off a request from the Department of Health and Hospitals to extend a contract with Molina Medicaid Solutions to handle services rendered to Louisiana’s Medicaid patients through Dec. 31 of this year.
Molina’s current contract with Louisiana began in January 2005. The extension will cost $40 million this year, on top of the $423 million the firm has been paid over the last decade for its work. The contract is paid with a mix of state and federal money.
