By Nina Mandell
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Legislative investigators are looking into a $297 million federal contract awarded by Gov. David Paterson's administration to a subsidiary his wife's employer, Emblem Health, the New York Post reported.
The contract, which is a 3 1/2 year deal to subsidize insurance for uninsured individuals with pre-existing conditions, was awarded without competitive bidding or public notice, the Post said.
Legislators told the Post that New York could have had the federal government assume responsibility for the program — as 21 other states did.
Paterson announced the deal on July 1, saying in a statement that it would make it easier to "facilitate access for care for New Yorkers all around the state."
An insurance department spokesperson told the Post that the selection of the first lady's employer had nothing to do with Michelle Paterson, who earns $152,000 a year as the director of integrative wellness.
"She did not speak to anyone at the department and I'm told by people [in the governor's office] that she didn't speak to them either," the spokesman told the Post.
But legislators and investigators who are now looking into the potentially shady deal, aren't buying that claim.
"Selecting a company for which the governor's wife works without bidding or public notice raises serious disturbing questions," one of the Legislature's top Democrats told the Post.
