Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009

Coastal Business | PGBA contract may get second review

Coastal Business

SURFSIDE BEACH

PGBA contract may get second review

Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina subsidiary PGBA LLC, which has an office near Surfside Beach, is one step closer to having a contract re-evaluated that would keep hundreds of jobs here.

On Oct. 28, the Government Accountability Office sustained a bid protest filed by Humana Military Healthcare Services after the company's contract with Tricare was not renewed earlier this year - putting 850 jobs in Surfside Beach in jeopardy.

PGBA is a subcontractor to Humana on the contract for Tricare, the health care program that serves current and retired military personnel and their families. The GAO recommended that the proposals be re-evaluated, according to the decision released Monday.

"We sustain Humana's protest on the basis that TMA's evaluation unreasonably failed to fully recognize and reasonably account for the likely cost savings associated with Humana's record of obtaining network provider discounts from its established network in the South Region," according to the decision.

If Tricare determines that the United Military Veterans Services Inc. proposal does not represent the best value, the GAO recommended terminating the contract.

The decision is nonbinding and Tricare Management Activity has 60 days to take action, according to a Department of Defense spokesman.

PGBA has about 850 employees in its area office who provide claims processing, customer service and information systems support for the Tricare program, he said. An additional 950 employees in Florence and Camden also work on the contracts. The current contract will expire at the end of March, and the new contracts are worth about $55.5 billion, according to the Tricare Web site.

MYRTLE BEACH

Airport fares fall more than average

Myrtle Beach International Airport has seen a decrease in average fares greater than most of the airports in the Southeast, according to U.S. Department of Transportation data released by the consulting firm Mead & Hunt.

From June 30, 2008, to June 30, the average flight fare fell 8.6 percent, from $141.26 to $129.05. The average of the 80 airports reporting - including those in South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Puerto Rico and Tennessee - was a decrease of 3.3 percent, according to the data.

"I definitely believe it's because of the low-cost carrier presence that we have," said Lauren Morris, spokeswoman for the Horry County Department of Airports.

This presence received a boost when Spirit Airlines launched a nonstop daily flight to Chicago O'Hare International Airport in March and Allegiant Air started offering twice-weekly flights out of Myrtle Beach International Airport in late April, Morris said.