COVID-19 contracting: Indian Health Service used flexibilities to meet increased medical supply needs : report to congressional addressees
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Alternate Title(s):
- Indian Health Service used flexibilities to meet increased medical supply needs
- Contributor(s):
- United States. Government Accountability Office, issuing body. United States. Congress, issuing body.
- Publication:
- Washington, DC : United States Government Accountability Office, October 2021
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- American Indians or Alaska Natives -- statistics & numerical data COVID-19 -- ethnology Equipment and Supplies -- supply & distribution Government Regulation United States United States. Indian Health Service
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Why This Matters. The Indian Health Service (IHS) serves over 2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. These groups have been disproportionately vulnerable to negative outcomes from COVID-19. During emergencies, federal contracting staff face pressure to work quickly to meet increased needs. We examined some of IHS's COVID-related contracts to see how the agency’s efforts fared. Key Takeaways. Despite facing challenges, including unprecedented demand for medical supplies, IHS was able to acquire needed products from a variety of vendors. IHS contract obligations for products, excluding prescription drugs, increased substantially during COVID-19 to address emergent needs for additional personal protective equipment, lab supplies, and more. Using emergency contracting flexibilities available under federal regulation, IHS (1) bought personal protective equipment and other medical products in bulk (2) awarded contracts noncompetitively (3) used streamlined procedures for higher dollar contracts to obtain medical supplies faster However, we found that IHS contracting officers did not notice that some COVID-related supplies were delivered late. Officials attributed this oversight to the spike in volume as well as the urgency of procurements during a pandemic. Contracting officers are responsible for ensuring the terms of a contract are met—under normal circumstances and in emergency acquisitions. IHS officials told us that they began taking intermediate steps to improve tracking of products during 2020; the agency is currently obtaining new software to improve contractor oversight. How GAO Did This Study. We analyzed relevant federal procurement data through June 30, 2021. We also reviewed four contracts— covering about 1/4 of obligations in IHS's largest product category (medical and surgical instruments, equipment, and supplies). We also interviewed IHS contracting officials.
- Copyright:
- The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (ii, 23 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918383083406676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918383083406676