Mass., Vt. halt payments to firm behind health sites
So far, the state has paid $11 million of its $69 million contract with CGI. It will not pay a penny more until a functioning website has been delivered, said Jason Lefferts, spokesman for the Commonwealth Health Connector, the states insurance marketplace.
CGI has consistently underperformed, which is frustrating and a serious concern, Lefferts said. We are holding the vendor accountable for its underperformance and will continue to apply nonstop pressure to work to fix defects and improve performance.
Massachusetts has reverted to using an alternative software system and paper notifications for residents seeking new insurance, a significant black eye for a system that was held up as a national model for providing coverage after it debuted in 2007.
There should be some financial accountability to the taxpayers.
In Vermont, state officials recently alerted CGI that the state is withholding payment of $5.1 million as compensation for the companys failure to meet key deadlines.
The state is also disputing more than $1 million in charges billed by CGI because of incomplete work that left its insurance website so far behind schedule that Vermonters could not buy coverage online, as promised under Obamas health care law, until early December, two months after it opened.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/12/26/states-weigh-legal-options-against-contractor-for-malfunctioning-health-insurance-websites/gNml5qwOtQPiR3qoFINjsN/story.html