Why Would Michigan Hire The Same Company That Botched The HealthCare.Gov Site?

Michigan has just awarded computer contracts worth close to $90 million to the Canadian company that built the

botched federal government’s Affordable Care Act website and took much of the blame for its disastrous launch.

The administration of Gov. Rick Snyder (R) chose CGI Technologies and Solutions, whose parent company is headquartered in Montreal, over three U.S.-based firms.  

CGI did not submit the lowest bid. Accenture, a management consulting and technology firm headquartered in New York, offered the lowest price by nearly $5 million, but “CGI provided best value,” Kurt Weiss, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, said Friday.

So the questions are why was CGI Technologies chosen when 1) It is not a US firm? 2)Has a record of botching up a a major website and not completing it on time 3) Was not the cheapest designer?  

State officials were “aware that there may be potential arguments that CGI is not a qualified vendor based on their recent involvement with health care at the federal level” and the HealthCare.gov website, Weiss said.

“But the feeling of all involved was that those allegations are simply false,” Weiss said. “CGI is a leader in the field, and they are recognized for excellence in … implementation, particularly in a government setting.”

Tim Greimel, House Minority Leader D-Auburn Hills, disagreed.

“It’s very unfortunate that the Snyder administration has chosen to use a foreign company, and especially a foreign company with a dismal track record of completely botching the federal government’s Obamacare website,” Greimel said Friday.

“It’s especially troubling that (they) chose to go with a higher bid from Canada, rather than a lower bid from an American company,” he said.