Feb. 18--PGBA LLC, a Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina subsidiary with an office near Surfside Beach, got a yearlong extension on two contracts that will keep hundreds of jobs in the area as an appeals process continues.
About 850 jobs in Surfside Beach were in jeopardy after Humana Military Healthcare Services and Health Net Military Services, which PGBA is a subcontractor for, lost contracts last year with Tricare, a health care program that serves current and retired military personnel and their families. The companies protested losing the contracts, and now Tricare has agreed to review the bids again -- which means PGBA will keep the jobs for at least one more year.
With the unemployment rate on the Grand Strand at nearly 15 percent, a loss of 800 jobs -- especially ones that aren't tourism related -- would be a big blow, said Tracy Edge, R-North Myrtle Beach, who worked with the state delegation in Congress to push for the bid protests and try to keep the jobs here.
"We just wouldn't be able to replace that very easily, particularly right now," he said.
Humana Military Healthcare Services and Health Net Military Services filed the bid protests with the Government Accountability Office after losing contracts for Tricare, which also put 950 jobs in Florence and Camden in jeopardy.
The GAO recommended that Tricare re-evaluate the bids, according to the decision released in October, but the decision is nonbinding.
Tricare Management Agency accepted the recommendations and then extended the current contracts another year to allow time to re-evaluate the bids.
The contracts had been set to expire March 30.
"We are in the process of evaluating the contract bids as they came in," said AustinCamacho, a Tricare spokesman. "Any of the original bidders for those two contracts could in fact be awarded the contract at this point."
He said that in the restarted bid process all the companies that initially submitted proposals will have an equal chance at the contracts and Tricare will take into account the GAO findings.
Humana filed its protest saying there were differences between the award criteria and procedures described in the request for proposals and those that were used by the Department of Defense in choosing a contractor.
Health Net's protest said that the disclosure of the company's Tricare contract price during the procurement was a violation of the Procurement Integrity Act and gave the company that was awarded the contract an unfair competitive advantage.
Information about the company's pricing was publicized on a Department of Defense Web site during the highly secretive procurement process.
Camacho said there is no timeline for a decision on the contracts, which are worth about $55.5 billion over the base and five option periods.
PGBA, which processes claims and provides customer service for Tricare, will continue to wait to find out what will happen because no decision has been, said Billy Quarles a spokesman for Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina.
The company will continue to help the prime contractors if they can and aims to regain the contracts when a final decision is made, he said.
Edge said that the extension is a good sign.
"Now that the extension is granted I think it strengthens PGBA's case," he said.
"When the contract was awarded back in the summer, it looked pretty bad and I was told the chances of an appeal were very slim. But thankfully we didn't listen to them."
If the contracts do end up going to another company, the economy may have improved by then, and the area could absorb the losses better than they could now, Edge said.
Contact ADVA SALDINGER at 626-0317.
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