Privatization in Health and Human Services - Essay Example

The government, by employing privatization programs, is able to increase its revenue, reduce costs, and better utilize the private capital for health and human services and facilities. The government is still responsible for the provision and the quality of HHS, though the contracting party is actually providing the services. This type of privatization is attained through an Invitation to Bid (ITB) or an RFP process (Request for Proposal).

In the RFP process, the concerned government agency takes proposals from all qualified businesses entailing the cost and the methodology of providing human and health services to the people. The decision is made on the basis of the quality and efficiency of the services being provided most economically rather than considering the cost of the service alone. On the other hand, an invitation to bid refers to the method of taking the standard sealed competitive bids in which the government usually accepts the lowest bid for the desired job.   

Contracts can be classified into various forms such as unit price contracts, fixed-price contracts, and cost plan contracts. It is imperative that the contractor is held accountable for the quality and efficiency of the service, as per standards, by the government and the desired performance of providing such services should be clearly defined.