JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The City of Jacksonville’s newly formed DOGE Committee, created to review government efficiency, met for just six minutes Tuesday as members continued examining allegations of illegal conduct involving the city’s Telescope Health telehealth contracts.
Despite the brief meeting, committee members said they have already spent dozens of hours reviewing thousands of pages of records tied to the accusations, which so far have yielded no evidence of wrongdoing.
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The investigation was launched after Councilmember Rory Diamond initially posted on Facebook last month, alleging “potential serious misuse of taxpayer funds, wrongdoing and potential illegal conduct” within the city’s Telescope Health program. The telehealth service is designed to help uninsured residents navigate their medical options.
Diamond also suggested possible Medicare and Medicaid fraud — a claim city Chief Health Officer Dr. Sunil Joshi has rejected as impossible because Telescope Health patients are uninsured and not part of Medicare or Medicaid systems.
Diamond requested thousands of pages of documents from the Mayor’s Office, Telescope Health, UF Health, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department and others. On Tuesday, he confirmed the volume of material now before the committee.
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“There are 3,000 pages or so, at least,” Diamond said during the meeting. “I put eyes on all of them… I don’t expect [other members] to have gone through them substantively, so I don’t expect [a report] back for several weeks.”
Council President Ron Salem said he has already logged about 15 hours reviewing documents.
“I’ll be spending a fair amount of the holiday going through these things,” Salem said. “Hopefully, when we come back after the break, I’ve been through them and got all the questions answered so we can begin moving forward.”
City Councilmember Matt Carlucci has publicly criticized Diamond’s claims, saying, “Diamond’s allegations are always like a tempest in a teapot.” Carlucci said he believes the accusations are likely unfounded and politically motivated.
Mayor Donna Deegan’s office and Telescope Health have also strongly denied any misconduct.
Diamond confirmed he did not take his concerns to the State Attorney’s Office or the Inspector General before posting them publicly. He said it is his responsibility as a council member to ask questions on behalf of taxpayers.
The DOGE subcommittee does not expect to finish reviewing all documents until after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.