Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
IBM Agrees To $14.8M Settlement Over Botched Rollout Of Maryland's Health Law Exchanges In 2013
The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Recoups Money Spent On Botched Health Exchange Rollout Under Settlement With IBM
Maryland and the federal government will recoup millions of dollars spent on the disastrous rollout of the state’s health insurance exchange created under the Affordable Care Act under a settlement with IBM, which supplied the technology. Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh and the U.S. Attorney for Maryland Robert K. Hur announced the $14.8 million settlement with IBM and its Curam Software unit Friday, a little more than five years after then-Gov. Martin O’Malley blamed the technology giant for the website’s problems and said: “We take responsibility for fixing this, and we'll see IBM in court." (Cohn, 6/14)
Modern Healthcare: IBM To Pay $14.8 Million To Settle False Claims Act Allegations
IBM-acquired Cúram Software allegedly misrepresented product capabilities during a contract award process with the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange in 2011 and 2012. The exchange is an independent unit of the Maryland government that facilitates purchasing of health insurance, as required by the Affordable Care Act. The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange in February 2012 awarded a contract—partially funded by federal grants from HHS—to develop the state's health insurance exchange website and information technology platform, with Cúram-IBM named as a subcontractor on the project. (Cohen, 6/14)
