Military health care (TRICARE) managed-care support: ~$51.3B — a Defense Health Agency contract with Humana (USAspending)
The Defense Health Agency (DHA) awarded a managed-care support contract for TRICARE — the health program for service members, retirees, and their families — to Humana Government Business. The value is about $51.3 billion ($51,269,205,263), the largest DoD contract this site has compiled. It shows that "military health care," not weapons, accounts for one of the biggest slices of defense spending.
Contract key facts
- RecipientHumana
- Contract value$51,269,205,263 (≈$51.27B)
- BranchDefense-wide
- Awarding agencyDepartment of Defense
- Awarding sub-agencyDefense Health Agency
- Award typeDEFINITIVE CONTRACT
- Period of performance2016-08-01 〜 2025-12-31
- Contract ID (PIID)HT940216C0001
Contract scope (original)
IGF::OT::IGF
Key points
- DHA ordered managed-care support for TRICARE (the military health program)
- Awarded to Humana Government Business
- Value ~$51.3B ($51,269,205,263; multi-year cumulative), definitive contract, Aug 2016–Dec 2025
- TRICARE is run region-by-region by private insurers (South, West, etc. are separate contracts)
- The largest DoD contract this site has compiled — showing the scale of "military health care"
- About $51,269.21 million is the largest of the 207 Department of Defense contracts this site holds as of 2026-09-01.
1TRICARE as a health benefit program
This contract covers managed care support for TRICARE, the health benefit program that provides medical care to service members, veterans, and their families.
2Regional operation by private insurers
TRICARE is the DoD's health program for active and retired military and their families. It is run by dividing the country into regions, with a private insurer in each region taking on a "managed-care support contract" to build provider networks, coordinate care, and process claims.
Among similar contracts this site has compiled are ones covering other regions (for example, Humana for the South region and UnitedHealth for the West region), which illustrate this regional division of responsibility.
3Where this contract ranks
This contract ranks as the largest DoD federal contract this site has compiled. Notably, it is not for fighters or warships but for "the health of service members and their families." Defense spending tends to evoke weapons, but this contract concretely shows that the costs of supporting people — the troops — and their lives and health make up an enormous share.
4The largest of the 207
Sorting the 207 Department of Defense contracts this site holds as of 2026-09-01 by amount puts this one at the top. Not a fighter and not a ship, but the health care of service members and their families.
Defence spending brings weapons to mind, while in fact the cost of supporting people and their lives and health holds an extremely large share. TRICARE is the Department of Defense health programme for serving and retired members and their families, run by dividing the country into regions where private insurers hold managed-care support contracts covering network building, referral coordination and claims processing.
Why it matters
A corrective to the "defense spending = weapons" view. That a people-related cost — the health of service members and families — is among the largest is useful for readers tracking the U.S. government market, health care, and security. It also reveals the regional operating structure.
FAQ
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Sources (primary)
This article is an independent organization based on the U.S. official spending data below. Verify the exact, latest details with the official source.
- USAspending (award details)
- Contract ID (PIID)：HT940216C0001