Dive Brief:
- Angry over its loss of a multibillion dollar Tricare contract, UnitedHealthcare has appealed to the Government Accountability Office to review the Department of Defense’s decision, the Military Times reported.
- The DOD announced late last month that the next round of Tricare contracts, worth $58 billion, would go to Humana and Centene, two of UnitedHealth’s competitors.
- The GAO has 100 days to rule on the complaint.
Dive Insight:
UnitedHealth currently manages the western region of the Tricare system, which provides health insurance for military families. In last month’s awards, the DOD consolidated Tricare’s health coverage regions from three (North, South and West) to just two (East and West).
UnitedHealth had bid on both regions. The contract for the East region is valued at $67.5 million in the initial phase and roughly $40.5 billion over five years. The West region contract is estimated to be worth $49 million initially and up to $17.7 billion total.
In an email to employees, John Mateczun, head of UnitedHealth’s military and veterans division, said a positive response from GAO could force DOD to reopen the competition or reconsider UnitedHealth’s proposals.
The company has gained from protesting before, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal noted. It snagged its current contract after losing out in a bidding process that was later deemed defective.