Federal agencies have hired many think tanks and health insurers to help with implementing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA)
Analyst at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) have listed the contractors in a PPACA contracting report prepared for Congress to carry out a provision of the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act.
The major awarders of federal PPACA contracts have been the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) assistant secretary in charge of implementing PPACA, who has awarded about $706 million in contracts; the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which has awarded $20 million in contracts; and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which has awarded $35 million in contracts.
HHS has awarded about $600 million of its contracts to the companies, agencies and other entities running Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) risk pool programs.
State risk pool agencies have received many of those grants.
In some states, such as Ohio and Rhode Island, health insurers are administering PCIP programs. In Rhode Island, for example, the contractor in charge of PCIP is Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Providence, R.I.