JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A city review of Jacksonville’s multimillion-dollar telehealth contract found no evidence of fraud or illegal conduct, but concluded the program did not deliver measurable financial benefits to taxpayers.
The Duval DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) committee released its final report Tuesday after a months-long investigation into the city’s agreement with Telescope Health, a Jacksonville-based telehealth provider.
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The committee determined that while earlier allegations raised concerns about potential Medicare or Medicaid fraud and improper steering of patients to certain hospitals, investigators found no proof to support those claims.
However, the report concluded the city’s roughly $2.1 million annual investment in Telescope Health yielded “no tangible financial benefit to taxpayers,” and questioned whether the program’s cost was justified.
Read the full report below.
Jacksonville contracts with two telehealth providers, Telescope Health and RightSite Health, to help divert non-emergency cases away from hospital emergency rooms. Telescope’s services are funded by the city serving uninsured patients, while RightSite’s services are provided at no direct cost to taxpayers, serving insured patients and billing insurance.
According to the report, both platforms aim to reduce unnecessary ER visits but differ in how patients access care and how services are delivered. Telescope allows patients to initiate contact directly through a hotline and focuses on uninsured residents through the Healthlink Jax program, while RightSite relies on paramedics to initiate telehealth consultations during 911 calls.
The committee found Telescope offers broader access, including 24/7 availability and integration with local services such as 988 and JaxCare Connect, but said those advantages did not clearly translate into cost savings for the city.
The report also raised questions about the methodology used to estimate savings tied to reduced emergency room visits, stating those projections are subject to “reasonable disagreement.”
As part of its recommendations, the committee urged the city to conduct a formal cost-benefit analysis before continuing the Telescope contract, explore expanding RightSite’s use, and improve oversight and training to ensure patients eligible for alternative care are consistently directed away from emergency rooms.
The committee also called for a review of potential ethics concerns involving individuals connected to the program and recommended increased public education about telehealth options.
Mayor Donna Deegan sharply criticized the report ahead of its presentation, calling the investigation politically motivated and wasteful.
“Jacksonville’s consolidated government has four, non-political professional entities with the responsibility of oversight of city financial operations. Yet several council members continue to disguise partisan gamesmanship as legitimate oversight,” Deegan said in a statement.
She added the committee “is costing [money] instead,” citing tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars and hundreds of staff hours spent on the review.
Deegan also pointed to what she described as conflicts of interest tied to the committee’s leadership and report authors, saying those issues give residents “good reason to question the report’s findings.”
The mayor defended the telehealth program, saying it was awarded through a competitive and transparent process and approved twice by the City Council.
“And it has saved millions on emergency room costs. This program is saving lives. The political attacks on it need to stop,” she said.
City data cited by the mayor’s office shows the Healthlink Jax program has handled thousands of calls and diverted nearly 2,000 patients from emergency rooms since launching in October 2024, with estimates of up to $10 million in avoided ER costs.
Despite those claims, the DOGE committee maintained that the financial benefits remain unproven and said further analysis is needed before continuing the current level of spending.
The committee is expected to present its findings to city leaders, with a follow-up report on utilization and costs recommended within six months.