Department of Health and Human Services

Office of Inspector General -- AUDIT

Complete Text of Report is available in PDF format (90 kb). Copies can also be obtained by contacting the Office of Public Affairs at 202-619-1343.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The audit is one of several reviews of procurements by the Program Support Center (PSC) and other components of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. 

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the Health and Human Services Acquisition Regulation (HHSAR) provide, among other things, that HHS agencies award each contract to a responsible party and document compliance with requirements for full and open competition and the determination that the price was fair and reasonable. 

As part of HHS’s hurricane relief operations, PSC awarded a contract to Henry Schein, Inc. (Henry Schein), to provide urgently needed medical and surgical supplies for use at Federal medical shelters, which were set up to provide emergency medical care for those in the affected areas.  Our objective was to determine whether PSC complied with FAR and HHSAR requirements during the award process involving Henry Schein.  PSC complied with the requirements.