By Daniel Abrahams,
Founding partner, Abrahams Wolf-Rodda LLC

The insertion of a labor harmony agreement into the Medicare Contact Center Operations recompete sets a dangerous precedent for federal contracts, writes attorney Daniel Abrahams.

There is a dangerous precedent being set by the Biden administration and its impact on federal contractors will have damaging consequences for years, if not decades, to come.

In September 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services awarded Maximus a nine-year, $6.6 billion contract to run the Contact Center Operations for 1-800-Medicare.

In the contract announcement, CMS lauded Maximus for supporting the contact center for 10 years at that point and stated the company “will continue to deliver high quality customer service for the people served by our programs.”

Maximus employees have handled more than 40 million inquiries a year and serve as the public face of the program when people need help or assistance.

Despite Maximus meeting every objective and metric, CMS decided not to renew the options on the contract beyond the current one.

Shortly thereafter, the contract went out for rebid with only one notable addition – a labor harmony agreement. That agreement is a pledge by contractors to work with unions and not experience a labor stoppage.

As the Washington Post reported, “There is little precedent for the federal government to abruptly end such a large contract and insert a labor harmony agreement.”

Click here for full story from the Washington Technology