Pursuit's Take
Nearly 1 in 3 Americans relies on Medicare or Medicaid for services from hospital stays and lab tests to flu shots and prescription drugs. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services uses an extensive network of private contractors to administer its programs.
In FY 2016, CMS spent about $7.2 billion on these contracts, an increase of about 40% since 2012. GAO found that 97% of this amount went to services, such as IT and administrative support. Additionally, since competition in government contracting generally saves money, CMS increased its use of competitive contracts from 78% to 96% during this same period.
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