JACKSONVILLE, FL - The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has awarded First Coast Service Options a new Medicare contract that involves administration of the fee-for-service Medicare program in Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The contract is for one year, with four option years available.
FCSO is one of the largest fee-for-service Medicare administrators in the United States. The Jacksonville, Fla.-based company has served as Florida’s primary Medicare administrator since the inception of the program in 1966.
As a result of legislation passed in 2003, however, FCSO had to compete for the first time to retain the contract that includes Florida. The company submitted a proposal for this scope of work in November 2007 following the release of CMS’ Request for Proposals.
“This award enables FCSO to maintain its long-standing relationships with Medicare beneficiaries and providers in Florida,” said Curtis Lord, FCSO’s vice chairman. “With only 15 such contracts to be awarded nationwide, this award also demonstrates the confidence that CMS has in FCSO to serve as one of the agency’s key Medicare administrators.”
The new contract is for one of the largest CMS administrative jurisdictions and will serve about 9 percent of the nation’s traditional Medicare beneficiaries.
“Being awarded this work speaks well of FCSO’s ability to meet the needs of a growing and increasingly diverse Medicare population and is a tribute to all of our associates,” said Sandy Coston, FCSO’s chief executive officer and president. “We are also pleased to be able to expand our Medicare operations into Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.”
Triple-S, Inc., a San Juan, Puerto Rico-based company with decades of Medicare program experience, will provide support to FCSO for this business expansion.