Federal Daily - October 20, 2009

TRICARE Announces New Overseas Program Provider

TRICARE Management Activity (TMA) on Oct. 16 announced that International SOS Assistance, Inc., Trevose, Pa., has won the contract to operate the TRICARE Overseas Program (TOP), which supports the delivery of  healthcare services to DoD beneficiaries outside the United States. The new contract consolidates work that has been done under separate contracts that provided overseas enrollment, TRICARE Service Center operations, TRICARE Global Remote Overseas, TRICARE Puerto Rico and overseas claims processing. Because several contractors sometimes handled the same claim under the multiple-contract system, the older system increased both the contract administration workload and costs, and complicated the process for those seeking care, TMA said last year when it opened competition for the consolidated system. The total potential TOP contract value is an estimated $269 million, plus the actual cost of health care. TMA said the new TOP contract will lead to more comprehensive, patient-centered and customer-focused service for about a half million overseas beneficiaries. The contract includes a 10-month transition period to ensure that customer service remains in place, with delivery under the contract slated to begin Aug. 31, 2010. Although some TRICARE Service Center and call center numbers likely will change, TMA said, new numbers will be made available during the transition. “A government transition management team is in place and functioning already,” said Rear Adm. Christine Hunter, TMA deputy director. To see more, go to: www.tricare.mil/pressroom/news.aspx?fid=559.

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Senate Panel to Hold Hearing on MSPB Nominations

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing Oct. 20 on President Obama’s picks to fill two top positions on the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). The panel is to consider the nominations of Susan Grundmann, a National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) attorney, as MSPB chairman, and former American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Assistant General Counsel Anne Wagner for the vice chairman position. The two, nominated for the posts in July, have been endorsed by labor leaders. While she served at NFFE, Grundmann worked closely with AFGE’s Office of General Counsel in the legal fight to repeal the National Security Personnel System (NSPS). Prior to joining NFFE, Grundmann served as general counsel to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. Wagner spent nearly 20 years as an assistant general counsel for AFGE before being appointed in 2007 to the Personnel Appeals Board of the Government Accountability Office. To see more, go to: http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.
Hearing&Hearing_ID=5df94730-6e77-4c41-8246-3be25f9bad05 (hearing).

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