Allegations have been raised that the government of Guam’s procurement for health insurance has been skewed in favor of Calvo’s SelectCare, said a former senior Calvo-Tenorio administration staffer, who documented his concerns in a letter to elected officials Tuesday.
“I believe every single year of this administration, the health insurance contract has been illegal,” said Troy Torres.
Torres has come forward with multiple allegations of corruption since he was arrested on April 27 for alleged drug possession following a raid at his home in Latte Heights.
The former senior staffer believes he was wrongfully arrested at the direction of Lt. Gov. Ray Tenorio and Police Chief Joseph I Cruz. Torres was released a day after his arrest and given a notice to appear back in court within three years, but wasn't charged.
In an interview with The Guam Daily Post on Tuesday, Torres alleged that Tenorio’s Deputy Chief of Staff Jadeen Tuncap and Guam Memorial Hospital Chief Financial Officer, Benita Manglona, who are both members of the government’s health insurance negotiating committee, were directly involved to ensure Calvo’s SelectCare received the bulk of the annual health insurance contract payments. GovGuam's annual health insurance costs have amounted to about $80 million a year.
“They did not maintain confidentiality or secrecy of the health insurance negotiating process whatsoever,” Torres alleged.
Torres outlined his concerns in a letter to Speaker Benjamin Cruz, Attorney General Elizabeth Barrett Anderson, and Legislative Committee on Rules Chairwoman Sen. Regine Biscoe Lee.
He accused Tuncap and Manglona of regularly reporting back to governor’s chief fiscal policy advisor, Bernie Artero, and then-Chief of Staff Franklin Arriola, and occasionally the lieutenant governor.
“Whenever there were changes to the process, whenever there was a choice, there had to be maneuvering so SelectCare would always be chosen,” Torres stated.
Tuncap and Manglona “whipped up the votes” and “wheeled and dealed” with the other members of the GovGuam negotiating team, to do that, he added.
"Every year since 2011, Gov. Edward J. Calvo ensured, through Artero, Arriola and Chief of Staff Mark Calvo, that SelectCare was chosen and received either an exclusive contract or the lion's share of the money in a multi-carrier scheme," Torres wrote.
“I’m not saying it’s bad insurance, but how SelectCare was chosen was definitely illegal,” Torres said.
He said he knew of the alleged collusion because he was called into meetings to get updates on the health insurance negotiating team's activities and claimed orders were sent back through "the ranks" to Tuncap and Manglona, who would be charged with presenting information and "either convincing or strong-arming the majority of the members of the health insurance negotiating team into voting in ways that eventually led to the adoption of whatever scheme benefitted Calvo's SelectCare most," the letter stated.
He recalled sitting in meetings with Arriola, Tenorio, Manglona and others to ensure the “right choice” was being made and prior to Tenorio signing off on the award. "It was all a scam," Torres alleged.
Gov. Calvo has designated Tenorio as a signatory to the health insurance contracts because of Calvo's family's ownership of SelectCare.
When asked why he remained silent about the alleged corruption for so long and helped shape the message going out to the community while working at Adelup, he said, “I thought the good stuff outweighed the bad stuff. Now looking back, I realize 100 good things could never outweigh one bad thing.”
Torres said he regrets turning a blind eye and not speaking out sooner. “When you don’t say anything, it’s allowed a really powerful administration to become extremely corrupt,” he said.
He told the speaker and the attorney general that he remains willing to testify before any legislative inquiry or grand jury.
Governor’s Director of Communications Oyaol Ngirairikl did not respond to questions related to the health insurance contract allegations, but in another statement regarding other allegations raised by Torres Tuesday, she said, “His statements and erratic behavior speak more about him than anyone else.”
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