The fact that business insider (a much discredited tabloid) puts it in an article doesn't make it true either. Falcon 9 is MUCH cheaper than launching on Space Shuttle ever was. Your article is from 5 years ago btw.
Does the federal government pay the same rates we commercial third-parties from abroad get to go to launch?
To my understanding several times the federal government has special requests that can and will drive the launch cost upwards for many (if not all) launch providers.
> Does the federal government pay the same rates we commercial third-parties from abroad get to go to launch?
Every launch contract is bespoke and the customers can request additional (sometimes significant) amounts of documentation of part providence and the rest. The US government often requests significantly extra documentation so it increases costs quite a bit.
To my understanding several times the federal government has special requests that can and will drive the launch cost upwards for many (if not all) launch providers.