The University of Maryland Medical System's affiliated institutions contract with board members who profit from deals reminiscent of those signed by former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, according to The Washington Post.
According to an analysis of financial disclosures conducted by The Washington Post, at least two dozen board members with the system's smaller affiliates had contracts with the system that, in some cases, were worth more than $100,000 annually. For example, an affiliated institution contracted with a vascular surgeon whose practice has made $2.4 million since 2013. Additionally, the former president of an ambulance company had contracts worth at least $1.3 million since 2010, according to the report.
Baltimore-based UMMS has been dealing with controversy surrounding these types of contracts after it was revealed the system paid then-Baltimore Mayor Ms. Pugh $500,000 for 100,000 copies of her Healthy Holly children's books while Ms. Pugh was a member of the health system's board. Ms. Pugh has since resigned as mayor amid the scrutiny over book deals she made with entities she had influence over.
In a statement to The Washington Post, UMMS spokesperson Michael Schwartzberg said the contracts were "all appropriate and consistent with fair market value." He added that some of the contracts were in place before members joined their respective boards, while others were signed after members joined their boards.
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