GAO Report Finds Problem Payments To CMS Contractors
CMS might have made almost $90 million in questionable payments to contractors hired to help launch the Medicare prescription drug benefit, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office, the Associated Press reports.
According to the report, CMS paid about $735.4 million to more than 250 contractors, but 16 contractors received most of the payments. The report found that some of the payments did not comply with terms of the contracts.
In some cases, payments exceeded caps included in the contracts, and in other cases, CMS did not obtain adequate documentation to confirm costs billed, the report found.
CMS spokesperson Jeff Nelligan said that the agency disagrees with the conclusions of the report and that the launch of the Medicare drug benefit required some contract decisions outside of standard policy (Freking, Associated Press, 12/20).