Scully Action in Response to Alleged Bias in Contract Award Was Improper, Gallup Lawsuit Says

The Gallup Organization has sued CMS Administrator Tom Scully in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleging that Scully illegally retaliated against the company after it accused CMS of favoring another polling firm in a hospital survey project, the Wall Street Journal reports. The suit alleges that Scully "intimidated and threatened to investigate" Gallup after it notified the White House Office of Management and Budget of "potential collusion" between CMS and National Research, another survey company, over a government effort to develop a hospital quality pilot survey program (Lueck, Wall Street Journal, 4/9). On March 5, Bob Nielsen, a managing partner at Gallup, sent an e-mail to OMB official Brenda Aguilar, requesting that funding for the pilot study be halted pending further investigation into the purported collusion. According to the suit, Scully e-mailed Nielsen later that day and called him an "idiot," a "jerk" and a "weasel." Scully also asked Aguilar to investigate Nielsen and allegedly threatened that if Aguilar met with Nielsen about the matter, it would be "the last time" he would speak to her "about CMS issues" (McDonough, AP/Nando Times, 4/9). According to Steve O'Brien, Gallup's general counsel, while CMS does not have a contract with National Research, National Research could have an advantage over other survey firms once the pilot project is in place (Wall Street Journal, 4/9). O'Brien added that Scully sent the e-mail to two of Gallup's competitors. O'Brien said, "We've just got to protect ourselves. We can't have people in government say bad things about us" (Wall Street Journal, 4/9). The suit seeks unspecified damages and a court order barring CMS from favoring National Research (AP/Nando Times, 4/9).

Reaction
Scully denied Gallup's allegations of collusion, noting the agency is not directly involved with the survey's development, the Journal reports. He said, "I sent a dumb e-mail. I apologize. There is no other problem in this process. The only problem is that we have an administrator who doesn't know when not to press the 'send' button." National Research President and CEO Michael Hays said, "Whatever Gallup is doing with Mr. Scully is between those organizations. There is no relationship between National Research and CMS" (Wall Street Journal, 4/9). Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) has asked OMB Director Mitch Daniels to halt funding for the pilot project until the lawsuit is resolved (AP/Nando Times, 4/9). Roll Call reports that the lawsuit comes one day after House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Billy Tauzin (R-La.) wrote Scully to ask how the pilot hospital survey was created. Tauzin has asked Scully to address such issues as whether the pilot survey could prompt hospitals to end their business relationships with firms like Gallup in favor of National Research (Henry, Roll Call, 4/9). Tauzin has asked Scully to respond by April 11 (AP/Nando Times, 4/9).