That's the way government contracts are written. Hence, the $600 toilet seat.
I wonder when they are going to start demanding medical offices pay their clerical staff prevailing wage?
Same as public utilities and how the gubment “protects” the public.
Many years ago I saw how public utilities operate. Our gas plant, operated by a large oil company was across the street from one operated by a public utility... Michigan Wisconsin Gas. Our plant looked like hell theirs was perfect and pristine. The difference? Theirs was paid for by rate payers and their profit was a guaranteed percentage of costs. Our profit was based on a margin of sales - cost. Not the same. We were motivated to keep cost down and they were motivated to make costs as high as possible.
How does this happen? Politics and politicians and legalized bribes in the form of campaign “contributions”. This is why the insurance companies support obastard care. That rule that premiums can’t exceed a certain percentage of cost and that overhead can only be a certain percentage of premiums and the refund some got the first year... remember it well, you won’t see that again. Costs will be adjusted up in a back scratching agreement between insurers and providers. They both win and we are screwed.