The Defense Health Agency has awarded Humana (NYSE: HUM) a one-year, $3.80 billion “bridge” contract to extend the company’s healthcare delivery services under the Tricare Health Benefits program.
Humana’s government business unit will continue to support health benefits management functions and provide managed care services to nearly 3 million Tricare program beneficiaries in the southern U.S., the Defense Department said Thursday.
The company helps the Military Health System adjucate more than 240 million medical claims each year with automated claims processing technology, according to DoD.
DoD noted the contract extension will run through March 31, 2018, and seeks to ensure uninterrupted care delivery throughout the South region until DHA implements the follow-on T-2017 Tricare managed support contracts.
Last year, DHA awarded a pair of contracts worth up to $58 billion for Humana and Health Net (NYSE: HNT) to respectively provide Tricare support services in the East and West regions.
Health Net, UnitedHealth Military and Veterans and Wellpoint subsequently challenged the Tricare contract awards at the Government Accountability Office and all three health insurers’ protests were denied by GAO.
