Contractor ponies up $40M for botched health exchange

Noridian Healthcare Solutions, a Fargo, N.D., company hired by the state of Maryland to build its health insurance exchange website, has agreed to repay the state $45 million.

The company will make a $20 million payment up front, followed by $5 million annual payments for five years. The payments cover about 61 percent of the total paid to the company to build the website, the Maryland governor’s office said in a statement.

“The roll-out of Maryland’s Health Exchange was a debacle that could have been avoided,” said Gov. Larry Hogan. “I have been one of the most vocal critics of this fiasco, and I am pleased that the process of recouping taxpayer losses has begun.”

The state is continuing to pursue damages against other companies.

The agreement with Noridian will recover funds for the state and for the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which provide significant funding for the exchange, according to the governor’s announcement.