Review of Pension Costs Claimes for Medicare Reimbursement by Cahaba Government Benefit Administrators, LLC, for Fiscal Years 2003 Through 2009

摘要

During our audit period, Cahaba Government Benefit Administrators, LLC (Cahaba), administered Medicare Part A and Part B operations for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama (BCBS Alabama), the legal entity that entered into these cost reimbursement contracts with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Cahaba Safeguard Administrators, LLC, administered program safeguard functions under a contract with CMS. Cahaba and Cahaba Safeguard Administrators, LLC, are wholly owned subsidiaries of BCBS Alabama. CMS reimburses a portion of the annual contributions that contractors make to their pension plans. In claiming costs, contractors must follow cost reimbursement principles contained in the Federal Acquisition Regulation, Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), and Medicare contracts. The Medicare contracts require contractors to allocate or separately calculate pension costs. Contractors must use the separate calculation method if there is a material difference between the results of the two methods. Our objective was to determine the allowability of pension costs that Cahaba claimed for Medicare reimbursement for fiscal years (FY) 2003 through 2009.