Cook County Commissioner Roberto Maldonado yesterday  called for public hearings into the county health system's plans for a new supply purchasing program.

The hearing, slated for Tuesday, will look into how an agreement with a group purchasing organization, a pre-selected group of vendors, would affect local minority- and women-owned businesses.

County requirements say 35 percent of purchasing must be done through those companies, and local business owners believe a GPO would cut them out of local business.

The GPO contract consists of $500 million of business over three years.

“You’re talking about eliminating many, many small businesses, even majority businesses because they won’t be able to participate,” business owner Elliot El-Amin told the board last month.

Health system officials say an agreement with a GPO would save the system $20 million this fiscal year. Chairman Warren Batts said it could save up to $40 million in the long run.

Late last month, Commissioner Peter Silvestri wrote to health board members asking for more details on how the plan would affect minority- and women-owned business, and how it might affect Cook County's economy.

"We aren't just willy-nilly charging into this," Batts said. "We're making sure we're spending the county's money the best we can, and there's no way we can't continue to meet the goals the best we can for women and minorities."

Business owners are also concerned about the ties between the health system's procurement officer, Leslie Duffy, and Novation, one of three GPOs that are under consideration. Prior to her current post, she was a high-ranking executive at Novation and its parent company, VHA, Inc. Novation currently holds the county's pharmaceutical contract.

Business owners have expressed concern over a potential conflict of interest. Health system COO David Small strongly denies one exists, adding Duffy is not the final decision-maker on the GPO contract.

“She is in no way a decision authority," Small said. "So there's no conflict."

Silvestri said last month that if a conflict of interest exists, it should be disclosed and investigated.