New Regional Contracts to Administer the TRICARE Benefit

The U.S. Department of Defense cut out former Tricare West Region contractor UnitedHealthcare and has given the contract to Health Net Federal Services, which also manages the Tricare North Region. In addition, in the move to cut costs by paring down the number of Tricare regions from three to two, Humana was awarded the contract to manage not only the southern region, which it currently covers, but also the eastern region for the military health program. The new East Region is a combination of the current south and north regions. UnitedHealthcare had managed the Tricare west region since 2012. Final disposition of the contract award is subject to the resolution of any protests that may be filed by unsuccessful bidders, the defense department said. Tricare provides benefits to military service members, retirees and their families.