Defense Department drops Centene from $65 billion contract

The U.S. Department of Defense on Dec. 22 dropped Centene Corp. in awarding $136 billion in contracts for the health insurance provided to active-duty military members, a blow to the insurer that has long held some of the work, reports KSDK. The Defense Health Agency said it was awarding the $65.1 billion TRICARE contract for its west region to TriWest Healthcare Alliance of Phoenix, owned Blue Shield of California, Regence Blue Shield and BCBS of Arizona, along with the University of Colorado Hospital Authority and the University of New Mexico Hospital. Centene held the contract for years through its Health Net Federal Services subsidiary.