Medicare Awards Administration Contract to Noridian

(MoneyWatch)  The Jamestown Sun reports that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded Noridian a contract to manage almost ten percent of all claims for Medicare Part A and B. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services awards contracts to manage various states and this contract was for the Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin. Noridian has previously won similar contracts to manage other areas of the country. The company is affiliated with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota. The government has awarded a total of fifteen of these contracts with the last five recently announced. Noridian is protesting an earlier contract they didn't win. For more on the program see this website. The total cost of Medicare is large, in 2003 for example, $278 billion was spent on the program and administrative costs are a part of it.