FederalDaily - January 10, 2006
CMS Travel Charges Questioned
Federal employees working for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS) have come under scrutiny for travel expenses spent on a conference. Last
week, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Committee on Finance, sent
a letter to Dr. Mark McClellan—Food and Drug Administration chairman
and CMS administrator—requesting a Government Accountability Office (GAO)
and inspector general audit to examine travel expenses at the 15 CMS centers.
Of particular concern was the annual Tri-Regional conference at the Don CeSar
Beach Resort in Florida, which Grassley said had a “cruise ship atmosphere
rather than that of a government working meeting to improve quality of care
for Medicare beneficiaries.” Grassley requested documentation for all
travel-related expenses covering September 2000 through Dec. 31, 2005.
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CBO Estimates DoD Medical Spending
Medical spending for the military could increase 80 percent from 2006 to 2024—going
from $37 billion to $66 billion—according to the Congressional Budget
Office’s (CBO) annual review of the Future Years Defense Plan (FYDP).
Of that estimated increase, 40 percent is based on payments to beneficiaries
aged 65 or older, which could double in real terms to a combined $23 billion
in 2024. In the same time period, CBO estimated the following increases:
- $8 billion to $15.2 billion in purchased care and private
sector contracts,
- $8.2 billion to $11.6 billion for military direct care, and
- $3.6 billion to $9.1 billion for pharmaceuticals.
CBO warned that estimates could increase depending on potential risk factors.
CBO’s report recommended increased deductibles, which could reduce total
costs by approximately 25 percent.
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DOL Needs Better Wage Determination Process
The Employment Standards and Administration’s Wage and Hour Division
(WHD)—a branch of the Department of Labor (DOL)—needs more transparency
in its wage determination process (to determine wages for contractors), the
Government Accountability Office (GAO) stated in a recent report. WHD is responsible
for setting local wage rates as part of the labor standards for government
contractors. GAO noted that contractors, unions and other stakeholders were
concerned that WHD did not make its methodology available and source information
available, and questioned whether WHD’s wage determinations were accurate.
As a result, the office received tens of thousands of inquiries that overloaded
analysts. GAO recommended that WHD make its wage determining processes more
transparent to allow the office to utilize fewer resources explaining the wage
determining process. The full GAO report can be found at www.gao.gov/new.items/d0627.pdf.
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New Contract for Military Commissaries
Military commissaries will soon have an updated, modernized point-of-sale
system and information technology support through IBM, according to the Defense
Commissaries Agency (DeCA). The Defense Information Systems Agency awarded
the firm a five-year, $270-million contract on Dec. 31. IBM is going to install
and support the Commissary Advanced Resale Transaction System (CARTS) to replace
the old system by 2008. Patrick Nixon, DeCA chief executive officer and acting
director, said, “Our deployment of CARTS will dramatically improve our
stores’ point-of-sale systems and as a result make us more efficient
and effective.” CARTS is expected to provide easier-to-use, more reliable
and automated cash management capabilities.
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