The Former Director of TennCare testified in federal court today that former state senator John Ford aggressively pushed for more clients to be moved to OmniCare Healthcare. Manny Martins said he didn’t know that Ford was working for OmniCare at the time.
The company paid Ford over $400,000 in consulting fees between 2001 and 2005.
According to Martins’ testimony, Ford promoted OmniCare as being the best managed care group that he knew. He also called Ford a very powerful figure in the TennCare Oversight Committee.
Martins also testified that Ford differed with the rest of the Black Caucus regarding a clinic in Memphis — one that Ford’s other employer, Doral Dental, didn’t want to see opened. Martins said Ford’s stance seemed unusual to him at the time.
Later in the day, Channel 5 Reporter Phil Williams testified regarding papers that he took from Ford’s desk after Ford resigned from the Senate.
They included a note from lobbyist Sharon Johnson saying “Please make sure amendments 1 and 2 get on this TennCare bill. Amendment 2 is vital to OmniCare.” The note started with “Please vote,” but vote was marked through. Johnson testified that the note was not unusual, and that she didn’t know at the time that Ford was a consultant for OmniCare.
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