An inspector general's report said the federal government did not cover its bases in fully vetting HealthCare.gov contractor CGI Federal Inc. when the company was awarded a contract to help create portions of the Obamacare website,
The Wall Street Journal reported.
The company's work on the site was rushed, sloppy, and had little oversight, allowing for much of the major delays and setbacks that frustrated consumers who attempted to sign up for the government's healthcare plans, the Journal said, citing an investigation of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a part of the Department of Health and Human Services, which was chosen to implement the program.
The agency "did not adequately plan for [the website's] contracts,"
said CNBC, which noted that only two of six contractors involved in the rollout had oversight by a review board before they received approval to work on the site.
Both HHS and CMS officials noted that they would accept the report's recommendations, the Wall Street Journal said.
Thus far, officials at CGI have not commented.
In the wake of the disastrous rollout, HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell has implemented changes including hiring new managers. The firm Accenture LLP has taken over for CGI, the Journal said.
Federal officials were obligated to pay for the CGI miscues, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Republican lawmakers.
"The American taxpayer could be on the hook for added costs because of the administration's failed rollout," said U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts, a Republican from Pennsylvania who serves as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's health panel.
The IG report recommended that CMS "ensure that acquisition strategies are completed as required by regulation, assess whether to assign a lead systems integrator for complex IT projects, ensure that contract actions are properly documented, and that all contracts subject to oversight review requirements undergo those reviews."
It also suggested that "HHS limit or eliminate regulatory exceptions to acquisition planning requirements, and revise its acquisition guidance to include specific standards for conducting past performance reviews."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.