HELENA, Mont. — An audit has found numerous problems with the workers compensation insurance program for contractors and subcontractors working for the U.S. government in Afghanistan.
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction found that lax governmental oversight led to Continental Insurance Co. charging $9.9 million more in premiums than it should have, and concluded that the government could be owed as much as $58.5 million.
An officer with the Montana National Guard raised the alarm about the program in an October letter to U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.
The audit, released Thursday, suggests the program's problems may warrant dumping the private insurer and allowing the government to self-insure its contractors.
The Defense Base Act of 1941 requires federal government contractors and subcontractors to provide workers' compensation insurance for their employees who work overseas.
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