The odd math behind the LICH bidding process

Dan Goldberg and Laura Nahmias

After much negotiation and with great ceremony, the final evaluation of bids to redevelop the financially troubled Long Island College Hospital was given over earlier this year to a committee representing the state entity that runs the hospital and the groups that were fighting to keep it open.

But it turns out that committee's evaluations of the nine proposals to purchase and redevelop LICH were based on an arbitrary scoring system that entailed 18 judges, some of whom had no health care experience, ranking bids by whatever means they liked, a comprehensive review of the scoring sheets has revealed.

The scoring sheets, obtained by Capital, show the evaluators awarded drastically different scores to several bidders even when their thoughts on a proposal were very similar. Several scorers complained of not having had enough time or detail to understand fully the implications of a specific bid.

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/04/8544330/odd-math-behind-lich-bidding-process