May 11, 2020

Governor Pete Ricketts

P.O. Box 94848

Lincoln, NE 68509-4848

Dear Governor Ricketts,

On April 21 you announced the launch of TestNebraska, an initiative to expand COVID19 testing
across the state. Since that time, several issues of concern have come to our attention around
the rolling out of the testing and the decision making of Nomi Health leadership.

According to the contract, the state may terminate the agreement with Nomi Health by May 19th.
We are writing to you today to request that you terminate the no-bid contract with Nomi Health
and its affiliates immediately, reinvest the dollars that were to go to Nomi in Nebraska’s county
public health labs, and support our local healthcare providers in increasing their efforts to combat
COVID19 across the state.

Access to widespread and reliable testing is critical to understanding rates of infection. Without
this information it is impossible to deliver an effective public health response. Since the rollout of
testing in April, Nomi Health has failed to deliver the contractually required number of daily tests
and failed to meet the contractually required 48-hour turnaround time for test results.

Nomi executives, by their own admission, have no knowledge of public health practice in this area
and little understanding of the Nebraska healthcare delivery system in general. Nebraskans do
not have the luxury to wait for Nomi leadership to learn on the job.

Nebraska’s leaders in healthcare delivery, including those at the University of Nebraska Medical
Center who are world-renowned in infection control and treatment, should be leading the testing
effort in close coordination with our state’s public health departments, entities that already have
the infrastructure and expertise to do this critical work. It is my understanding that these local
experts at UNMC and in our public health departments were not consulted in the decision to
award the TestNebraska contract to Nomi Health.

Concerning the decision making of Nomi Health leadership, the fact that the initial version of the
company’s online assessment included a question about hydroxychloroquine, a drug that has
shown little efficacy in treatment against COVID19 raises serious questions. The financial
relationship between Nomi leadership and the maker of the drug casts further doubts about the
stewardship of Nebraska taxpayer dollars and sensitive health data on the part of NOMI
leadership. Another company involved in the contract, Domo, is headed by Josh James, who both
Bloomberg and the LA Times criticized in the past year for using his company as a personal piggy
bank — leasing the company his own private jet at a rate of $3,276 per hour and contracting with
his brother’s restaurant for $600,000 for catering services. Both the CEOs of Domo and Nomi
Health have received complaints about discriminatory hiring practices or inappropriate comments
about women and people of color.

The collection of personal data by Nomi and Domo should cease at once. We ask that you turn
the assessment questionnaire process over to the Nebraska Health Information Exchange
(NEHII), which already is Nebraska’s Medical Information Repository and HIPAA compliant, and
consider coordinating with companies in Nebraska’s own Silicon Prairie to find a tech solution
tailored for our state.

Getting Nebraska back to work, school, worship, and play is important to all of us. That is why it is
vitally important that we look for guidance from our local experts and fully use their expertise and
community connections. During this economic crisis it is also vitally important that every dollar we
have be prioritized for reinvestment into Nebraska to strengthen our existing healthcare
infrastructure.

Sincerely,

Senator Machaela Cavanaugh, District 6 Senator Megan Hunt, District 8

Senator Rick Kolowski, District 31 Senator Carol Blood, District 3