Analysis: Healthcare.gov has cost $2.1 billion so far.
Bloomberg News (9/24, Wayne) reports on a Bloomberg Government analysis of contracts related to healthcare.gov finds the project “has cost about $2.1 billion so far.” According to the analysis, the spending exceeds the most recently-provided government estimate (9/25) (pdf) of cost, which was $834 million. Bloomberg Government, which shares an owner with Bloomberg News but is editorially independent, included several factors that the government’s estimates of ACA costs have not included: “$387 million in spending for healthcare.gov by the IRS and other agencies outside the health department; a $300 million contract to process paper applications; and spending by CMS after Feb. 28.”
The Hill (9/25, Viebeck) reports that, according the same analysis, the implementation of the Affordable Care Act has cost a total of more than $73 billion to date. One of the reports authors noted, “Whether policymakers and the public judge the $73-billion-plus tab for health reform reasonable or exorbitant may ultimately turn on what’s used as the measuring stick,” noting it exceeds the cost of the DOD’s F-35 program but pales in comparison to total healthcare spending. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Federal agency responsible for implementing much of the ACA, pushed back against the report, with spokesman Aaron Albright saying, “The GAO, HHS’s Inspector General and the Department all measured the cost of Marketplace-related IT contracts for Healthcare.gov. But this report measures different things, and not surprisingly, produces a different number.”
