PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A former legislator who reported Oregon’s troubled health exchange to the FBI in 2012 says he has no proof of the allegations that federal officials were intentionally misled about progress in setting up the exchange.
Patrick Sheehan, a Republican from Clackamas County, said Thursday he was relaying allegations conveyed to him by a source he declined to identify on the record. The source claimed the state misled federal officials during a federal review to give the illusion it was further advanced in its work.
Sheehan said he went to the FBI because it would be “a pretty big story if it were to be true.” Sheehan’s disclosure was first reported by KATU-TV.
At the time of the federal review, the exchange was being built by the Oregon Health Authority. It was later handed over to Cover Oregon.
Cover Oregon spokesman Michael Cox said in a statement, “No one from the FBI has contacted Cover Oregon or OHA.”
The FBI declined to comment on whether it has opened an investigation.
Sheehan is working on the gubernatorial campaign of Republican Rep. Dennis Richardson.
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