A friend of mine often says excuses satisfy only those who make them. This rather cynical saying came to mind when I read about the for-profit business WEKA, whose owners donated to Mayor Dave Bronson’s campaign, then used the former hotel owned by the municipality rent-free and got free antibody medication from the federal government, but still charged patients a $550 up-front fee.
WEKA was not credentialed by insurance carriers since WEKA did not finish the application process because they said “the COVID wave did not lend itself to waiting for the completion of that credentialing process.”
Patients could get the antibody treatment for free at the Fairweather Clinic, but WEKA charged a $550 fee. WEKA’s second excuse is they had significant overhead costs.
The owner of WEKA said the company did not make a dime and in fact “we are very very far in the hole,” a third excuse. A for-profit company that got free rent and free medication and charged the patients $550 actually lost money on this deal? Really?
Even worse, WEKA apparently administered a medication to a double-lung transplant platient using an incorrect method, using an IV infusion instead of two intramuscular injections as authorized by the FDA. WEKA’s fourth excuse: The clinic allowed the patient to choose to receive the medication via IV or intramuscular injections.
The ADN article also noted excuses from the administration about this apparent sweetheart deal with no selection process or formal bids. Originally, WEKA was a private security and transport company when Mayor Bronson offered them free rental space to give monoclonal antibody injections. Turns out the owners of WEKA had been big donors to Bronson’s campaign, giving at least $15,000 to Bronson and a PAC supporting him. The mayor’s excuse: “WEKA was not selected.” “This is a private entity who stood up during the pandemic.”
We are supposed to believe that the big donations to the mayor were just coincidental. Really? Do these excuses satisfy you?
— Joanne Kell
Anchorage
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