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Stop-Work Order for J7 MAC Award
On July 10, 2009, TrailBlazer was awarded the contract to serve as the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) for Jurisdiction 7 (J7), which includes the states of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
On July 21, 2009, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) notified TrailBlazer that the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) received a protest of CMS' J7 award. This has resulted in a stop-work order in accordance with federal acquisition regulations. TrailBlazer has been directed to immediately stop all work in support of the J7 contract. This stop-work order is in effect until the final resolution of the protest. CMS periodically updates the status of the MAC procurements on its Contracting Reform Web page.
TrailBlazer will share more information through this J7 MAC Implementation Web site and MAC listservs as details become available on how this decision will affect providers. Please check this site regularly for important updates regarding the J7 MAC implementation.
CMS Selects TrailBlazer Health Enterprises to Administer Medicare Program in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi
On July 10, 2009, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded a new contract to TrailBlazer Health Enterprises, LLC to serve as the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) for Jurisdiction 7, which includes Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The full period of contract performance is five years, including implementation, a base operations period and four available option years.
TrailBlazer already serves as the MAC for Jurisdiction 4, composed of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Colorado, and will begin implementing operations in the new service area immediately. TrailBlazer's implementation plan includes extensive, ongoing communications with Medicare providers regarding transition activities and schedules.
The states in MAC Jurisdictions 4 and 7 comprise more than 13 percent of the national Medicare fee-for-service workload. MAC contractors generally are responsible for claims payments, Medicare provider enrollment and customer service, and audit activities. There are 15 MAC jurisdictions nationally for administration of the Medicare fee-for-service program.
TrailBlazer's Medicare operations span the history of the federal health program from its inception in 1966. In 2008, TrailBlazer processed more than 130 million Medicare claims, handled nearly 6 million inquiries, and made payments of more than $23 billion to hospitals, physicians, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, ambulance service providers, dialysis centers, and others providing health care to Medicare beneficiaries.
TrailBlazer is also the designated national MAC for Indian Health Service providers, and conducts other specialized national and regional Medicare operations.
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