The Contracting Education Academy

Contracting Academy Logo
  • Home
  • Training & Education
  • Services
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Archives for healthcare exchanges

September 17, 2015 By AMK

How Healthcare.gov botched $600 million worth of contracts

The public employees responsible for overseeing $600 million in contracts to build healthcare.gov were inadequately trained, kept sloppy records, and failed to identify delays and problems that contributed to millions in cost overruns.

That’s according to a new government audit, published today. It reveals widespread failures by the federal agency charged with managing the private contractors who built healthcare.gov. The audit is the first to document, in detail, how shoddy oversight by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which manages federal health programs including Obamacare, contributed to the website’s early struggles.

Healthcare.gov - $799 Million

To develop healthcare.gov, CMS hired and managed private companies to create vast, interlocking software systems that would allow consumers to shop for insurance policies. According to the report, issued by the agency’s inspector general, lapses in oversight of those companies started early on—well before the website’s limping debut, on Oct. 1, 2013. The site faltered for months, frustrating consumers until a scramble to repair it ultimately allowed millions to enroll in health plans.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-15/how-healthcare-gov-botched-600-million-worth-of-contracts

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition training, adminis, Affordable Health Care Act, CMS, contract delays, healthcare exchanges, HHS, IG, OIG

December 16, 2013 By AMK

HHS chief seeks investigation into Affordable Health Care website contracts

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Tuesday asked the department’s inspector general to investigate the contracting process behind the government’s botched rollout of the online health insurance exchange in October.

In a letter to Inspector General Daniel Levinson, Sebelius said it’s critical to understand the factors that contributed to the failed launch of HealthCare.gov. “I am requesting that your office undertake a review of the work of our contractors, and the management of and payments to those contractors, in the development of HealthCare.gov,” she wrote.

Specifically, she requested an investigation of the acquisition process; contractor selection and project management; contractor performance and monitoring; and payments to contractors throughout the process.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/health/2013/12/hhs-chief-seeks-investigation-obamacare-website-contracts/75326

 

 

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition strategy, contract payments, contractor performance, healthcare exchanges, HHS, IG, monitoring, payments, performance-based payment, project management, selection criteria

October 24, 2013 By AMK

Healthcare.gov’s shortcomings spark criticism of IT prowess and acquisition process

Problems with healthcare.gov, the federal website for residents of 36 states  whose governments declined to build their own healthcare exchanges, have set off  a round of recriminations against federal information technology management and  acquisition.

The New York Times, in a Oct. 12 article,  says that regulations underpinning healthcare.gov were delayed for political  reasons until after the November 2012 election and technical specifications were  also slow in coming, meaning that the website’s largest contractor, CGI Federal,  didn’t start writing code until this spring. The Centers for Medicare and  Medicaid Services also took on itself the role of system integrator, although  some doubted it had the technical capacity to take on that task.

Systemic problems, such as lack of technical expertise, are the stuff of much  debate over what went wrong.

“Many agencies are stuck in a technology time warp that affects how projects  like the healthcare exchange portal are built,” writes Ars Technica’s Sean Gallagher, expressing a common opinion that cites  as fundamental causes long procurement cycles, slow adoption of new technologies  and the problem of a large installed base. Gallagher also notes turnover among  top executives, each of whom brings “some marquee project to burnish their  résumés,” meaning that real change is difficult to implement.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/healthcaregov-problems-spark-federal-it-recriminations/2013-10-16

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition strategy, health services, healthcare exchanges, HHS, IT, technology development

Popular Topics

abuse acquisition reform acquisition strategy acquisition training acquisition workforce Air Force Army AT&L bid protest budget budget cuts competition cybersecurity DAU DFARS DHS DoD DOJ FAR fraud GAO Georgia Tech GSA GSA Schedule GSA Schedules IG industrial base information technology innovation IT Justice Dept. Navy NDAA OFPP OMB OTA Pentagon procurement reform protest SBA sequestration small business spending technology VA
Contracting Academy Logo
75 Fifth Street, NW, Suite 300
Atlanta, GA 30308
info@ContractingAcademy.gatech.edu
Phone: 404-894-6109
Fax: 404-410-6885

RSS Twitter

Search this Website

Copyright © 2023 · Georgia Tech - Enterprise Innovation Institute