Jackson says he will cancel newly extended state contract if elected Georgia’s next governor

Companies owned by Jackson, a wealthy healthcare executive, have brought in nearly a billion dollars from state agencies since the 2020 fiscal year, according to a Healthbeat Atlanta analysis in February. The bulk of that money comes from medical personnel staffing services with the state Department of Community Health.

Jackson’s rival in the GOP primary contest, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, sought to make those contracts a campaign issue, taking the rare step of criticizing Jackson Healthcare from the Senate dais. A Senate bill stalled that would have barred anyone who has a financial interest in a state agency, including state contracts, from running for office – a measure that was largely seen as a swipe at Jackson.

Jackson responded in March by pledging to “unwind” all of his financial ties to the state government if elected, but on Tuesday, an 11Alive report found that the state Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities extended a contract with Locum Tenens, a Jackson Healthcare subsidiary, through the end of next June – six months into the next governor’s term.

Locum Tenens provides temporary healthcare workers to the department.

Speaking with reporters at a campaign stop Thursday, Jackson said continuing the contract does not amount to a contradiction of his pledge.

“There’s a 30-day out,” he said. “I can get out of that contract any day I want to. If I’m elected on Nov. 3, the next day, it will be terminated, and so it will not even be in existence on the day I arrive.”

Jackson added that he plans to exceed legal requirements to avoid even the appearance of impropriety and, if elected, he will push lawmakers to pass the most “strenuous ethics bill that’s ever been known.”

“We will have the highest of ethics,” he said. “You’ve never heard anybody in 43 years ever claim that I have ever done anything unethical, and we’re going to maintain that value going forward.”

Jackson said he could not say whether his companies would extend other contracts into the next governor’s term and pull out if he wins the election.

“I don’t know what all my companies are doing,” he said. “When they call us and they (have a) severe staffing shortage for mental health and some of these things, they’re going to respond.  We’re not assuming I’m going to win this election. I’ll deal with that at the time.

“Here’s what I can tell you. On Dec. 31, we will not have a contract if I’m the governor-elect at that point in time,” he added.

Democrats said that’s not good enough.

In a statement released Thursday afternoon, Bottoms called on Jackson to disclose more information about past contracts and suspend any new contracts or extensions while he is running for governor.

“Georgians deserve transparency and have a right to know how much money Rick Jackson is making off the taxpayers,” Bottoms said. “There’s no reason to trust him when he won’t provide the basic facts of how he’s made his fortune and continues to profit off Georgians all while opposing Medicaid expansion that would lower healthcare costs and ensure hundreds of thousands of Georgians get healthcare coverage.”

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