Medicare: Existing Contract Authority Can Provide for Effective Program Administration

摘要

GAO believes that a major change in the method of contracting used in the Medicare program is not justified because the competitive fixed-price experiments have not demonstrated any clear advantage over cost contracts presently used to administer the program. HHS' current authority, if properly used, allows for effective program management and provides sufficient opportunities to achieve greater administrative efficiencies. While competition generally offers the potential for reducing administrative costs, GAO estimates that only three of the seven competitive fixed-price experiments in the Medicare program have actually resulted in savings.