Humana Prefers You Don’t Know the Details of Its $45 Billion Tricare Contract

Humana’s military unit has filed suit against the federal Defense Health Agency in an effort to block the details of its $45 billion Tricare managed care contract from becoming public, as reported late yesterday by Law360. Humana Military is seeking a permanent injunction blocking the agency’s decision to disclose certain proprietary information provided by Humana as part of its bid for the Tricare contract, according to the complaint filed in Washington, DC federal court. Though it’s unclear why, the Defense Health Agency said last week that it planned to release details of the contract; Humana claimed doing so would violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the Trade Secrets Act. The agency maintains that letting the public in on it “would not result in any substantial competitive harm to Humana Military.” Clearly, Humana disagrees and issued a statement saying the agency, in effect, would be providing “a blueprint for Humana Military’s competitors of the elements that Humana Military developed to win Tricare competitions”—which clearly would do substantial competitive harm. In working with Tricare, Humana Military sets up provider networks for military personnel and dependents, manages referrals between military and civilian facilities (including urgent care providers), covers enrollment services, processes claims, and provides customer and medical management services. That adds up to roughly 5.9 million people.