Inconsistencies in bid program
By HME News Staff
Updated Fri November 17, 2017
BALTIMORE - CMS did not always follow its own procedures and federal requirements for awarding competitive bidding contracts consistently, according to a new report from the Office of Inspector General.
CMS did not follow the bid process consistently for 23 of 215 winning suppliers, the OIG found.
Breaking it down, the agency awarded contracts to 10 suppliers that did not meet financial statement requirements and 13 suppliers that did not have the required license in at least one competition, according to the OIG.
The inconsistencies affected 99 of the 240 sampled single payment amounts, the OIG found.
Additionally, CMS did not monitor suppliers in accordance with established procedures and federal requirements for another 31 suppliers. These suppliers did not maintain the applicable license required by their contract for the last six months of 2013, according to the OIG.
With these errors, CMS paid suppliers $182,000 less than they should have, or less than .03% of the $553.7 million paid under Round 2 during the last six months of 2013, the OIG estimates.
The report recommends that CMS follow established program procedures and federal requirements consistently; ensure that suppliers have the required licensure; and monitor supplier licensure requirements by implementing a system to identify potential unlicensed suppliers.
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