TRICARE administrators Humana and TriWest rank among Pentagon’s 10 largest contractors

By Garrett Sloane

WASHINGTON — Two companies that run military health insurance received more Pentagon contract money in fiscal 2026 than L3Harris, Leidos or BAE Systems, federal spending data show. One of them is two months from the end of its current contract period.

Humana Government Business and TriWest Healthcare Alliance administer TRICARE, the health program for service members, retirees and their families, under contracts with the Defense Health Agency. USAspending.gov shows Defense Department obligations of $5.63 billion to Humana and $5.55 billion to TriWest in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. That ranks them eighth and ninth among the department’s contractors when affiliated companies are grouped under their parents, an Inquisitor analysis found. Only Lockheed Martin, RTX, Boeing, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, HII and the drug distributor Cencora ranked higher.

Defense contract data can lag by up to 90 days, so fiscal 2026 totals may still rise.

The T-5 contracts

The money flows through the fifth generation of TRICARE managed-care support contracts, known as T-5. The agency signed both on Dec. 22, 2022. Each was competed in full and open competition and drew two offers, according to federal data. Both are cost-plus-award-fee contracts, which reimburse the contractor’s costs and add a fee tied to performance ratings.

Health care under the new contracts began Jan. 1, 2025. That day, TRICARE said, Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin moved from the East Region to the West, with small “carveout” areas as exceptions. TriWest became the contractor for the expanded West Region. Health Net Federal Services had held the West contract under the previous generation. Humana stayed on in the East.

A decision point in December

Federal data list Dec. 31, 2026, as the current end date of TriWest’s West Region contract and Dec. 31, 2033, as the latest possible end if every option is exercised. That suggests the Defense Health Agency must exercise an option or otherwise extend the contract within about two months to keep it running without a break. The agency has not announced an option decision. The Inquisitor is asking the Defense Health Agency and TriWest about the timing.

The current period of Humana’s East contract runs to Dec. 31, 2029, according to the same data.

The previous generation

Humana’s previous East contract, HT940216C0001, shows $51.27 billion in lifetime obligations from 2016 through its Dec. 31, 2025, end date. That is the largest total of any Defense Department contract with activity in fiscal 2026, larger than any submarine or F-35 contract in the data. It drew four offers. Health Net’s prior West contract, HT940216C0002, shows $23.48 billion.

Why it matters

Defense contracting is usually discussed in terms of ships, jets and missiles. But the TRICARE contracts put health care administration among the department’s biggest purchases, and the companies that run it among its biggest vendors. The contract data do not show how much of the obligated money pays for claims and how much for the contractors’ administration and fees. The Inquisitor is asking the Defense Health Agency for that breakdown.

Request for comment

The Washington Inquisitor is seeking comment from the Defense Health Agency, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, Humana, the American Enterprise Institute and Taxpayers for Common Sense. This story will be updated with any responses.

Featured image: Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., 2011. U.S. Army photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.