How Healthcare.gov Botched $600 Million Worth of Contracts
A sign directing people to an insurance company where they can sign up for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, on Feb. 5, 2015. in Miami.
Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesThe 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.