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The percentage of federal contracts awarded to small businesses has traditionally been small. The purpose of the article is to determine whether the conflict between the goal of introducing more equality in the distribution of contract awards and the other official goal of maximizing efficiency through the use of open competition can be reduced. It may be that preferential treatment of small businesses in the procurement process is not justified in terms of the need for such preferential treatment for some categories of goods and services.

Abstract: An evaluation of the effect on total health care costs of a Medicaid demonstration project to provide coverage for alcoholism and substance abuse was conducted in Illinois in 1983. A pre/post-treatment analysis of expenditures for a subgroup of demonstration clients suggests that the addition of the alcohol and drug benefit did not result in higher total expenditures. [An important policy implication is that, when medical services substitute for one another, costs savings (increases) will not necessarily be realized when benefit packages are cut (expanded).] (Am J Public Health 1987; 77:503-504.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]