Dive Brief:
- Former Blue Shield of California VP and CTO Aaron Kaufman says he was fired March 11 for disputing which vendor the company should select for its Veritas Data Project.
- Kaufman says he repeatedly advised SVP and CIO Michael Mathias to select a vendor that would be at least $3 million cheaper than the one Mathias wanted, and suspected a conflict of interest.
- Kaufman's lawsuit seeks reinstatement as well as economic, compensatory and punitive damages for wrongful termination, whistleblower retaliation, conversion and theft, and breach of contract, according to the Courthouse News Service.
Dive Insight:
The accusations of the company "bilking $3 million from California consumers and 3.4 million Blue Shield members" come at a time when Blue Shield of California is already facing financial scrutiny, having lost its state tax-exempt status, as well as harsh words from another executive—their former public policy director, Michael Johnson—who is petitioning for the company to convert to a for-profit business.
"Kaufman is a former employee who left the company on March 10, 2015," Blue Shield spokesperson Clinton McGue told the Courthouse News Service. "We disagree with the complaint and have no further comment at this time."