Senators Gordon and Somers Call for Accountability and Oversight Following Troubling Revelations About Former DSS and OHS Commissioner Deidre Gifford

HARTFORD, CT – State Sen. Jeff Gordon (R-Woodstock) and Heather Somers (R-Groton), two leading voices on healthcare and government accountability in the Connecticut General Assembly, are calling for immediate action and oversight following alarming revelations involving former Department of Social Services Commissioner and outgoing Office of Health Strategy (OHS) Commissioner Deidre Gifford.

“Our government should and must be accountable to ‘we the people’ at all times. There are no ‘ifs, ands, or buts’ about it,” said the senators in a joint statement.

Recent reporting and subpoenaed documents made public as part of a federal criminal investigation reveal that Gifford played a direct role in the 2020 cancellation of a state audit into Dr. Helen Zervas, a politically connected eye doctor accused of billing Medicaid for procedures she never performed. Gifford, then Commissioner of DSS, was actively involved in internal discussions and ultimately signed off on a settlement allowing the doctor to repay $599,000 in taxpayer dollars without further investigation, despite internal concerns flagged as “unusual” by DSS staff.

“Thus, it is very disturbing and strongly disappointing that Deidre Gifford, the Commissioner of the Office of Health Strategy, who is retiring on July 1st, has exemplified the opposite of accountability and transparency,” said the senators.

“When Gifford was Commissioner of the Department of Social Services, she helped cancel a state audit that would have brought to light a politically connected doctor who had billed Medicaid for never-performed procedures. A cover up of fraud! This is about people’s hard-earned tax money,” they continued.

The senators also expressed outrage at Gifford’s decisions as head of the Office of Health Strategy to approve, without public transparency, the closure of labor and delivery units at community hospitals in northeast and north-central Connecticut, Windham Hospital and Johnson Memorial Hospital, leaving expectant mothers without local access to critical care. These decisions were made behind closed doors and over significant community opposition.

“As OHS Commissioner, Gifford decided behind closed doors to let large hospital systems in big cities shutter the doors against pregnant women who live in northeast and north central CT, and who need inpatient labor & delivery care at community hospitals. She did this not only once, but she did it twice. Windham Hospital and Johnson Memorial Hospital. These decisions ignored public input and ignored reality. More backroom deals. Patient care weakened. And despite formal requests, Gifford has refused to be accountable.”

The senators say that these events illustrate the need to reform the Office of Health Strategy and to reassert its core mission of protecting patient care, not expanding bureaucracy.

“Although we may at times have polite, public policy disagreements with the Governor (but not all the time, for example, the need to cut taxes and to live within our financial means), we have found him to be a good man. We look forward to discussing with him the importance of transparency and accountability. And the importance to reform the OHS, taking it back to its primary responsibility of protecting patient care, and taking it away from the unnecessary bureaucracy that it has become. We are legislative leaders regarding this.”

The senators are also calling on the newly formed Government Oversight Committee to investigate the Department of Social Services and the Office of Health Strategy and to examine the decisions made under Gifford’s leadership.

“We encourage the Government Oversight Committee to look into the DSS and OHS to root out what happened and to put into place true accountability of these state agencies.”

In their concluding remarks, the senators emphasized the need for integrity in public service and faith in the systems that manage taxpayer resources and health care access.

“The people of Connecticut deserve better.”