CHICAGO — Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) is proud to be supporting the contract awarded to TriWest Healthcare Alliance to administer the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) next generation TRICARE program, known as “T-5,” for its 26-state West Region territory. TRICARE is the uniformed services health care program for active duty service members, active duty family members, National Guard and Reserve members and their family members, retirees and retiree family members, survivors, and certain former spouses.
TriWest previously held TRICARE contracts with the DoD for 17 years, beginning in 1996 through 2013, also in the Western United States. HCSC provided access to a network of medical providers in support of that contract, and is looking forward to again working alongside TriWest to serve the TRICARE-eligible population in Illinois, Montana, Oklahoma, and Texas, by giving access to a network of approximately 240,000 providers within these states.
“We are honored to be part of the TriWest team that is focused on this critical work to ensure our nation’s active duty service members, national guard and reservists, retirees and their family members have access to quality health care in their local communities, “ said Maurice Smith, President & CEO of HCSC. “We are honored to serve those who serve our nation.”
Under the T-5 contract, the total geographic area of responsibility in the TRICARE West Region includes 26 states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
TriWest also holds the federal contract with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to administer its Community Care Network (CCN) for Veterans. Under both the VA and DoD contracts, TriWest will assist an active duty service member through his/her full cycle of access to community health care – through time of service, and then at the back end as the hero transitions to VA eligibility. HCSC provides its local networks for CCN in Texas and Montana, and will provide its networks in Illinois, Montana, Oklahoma and Texas for the T-5 contract.
“At TriWest, it has been our privilege to serve the health care needs of the Veteran and military communities for nearly three decades. We are humbled to have the opportunity through this contract to return to our work alongside DoD, and continue our work alongside VA, through which to date the 740,000 medical professionals in the community have provided Veterans with 50 million total appointments, and to partner with HCSC to serve our nation’s heroes under the T-5 contract,” said David J. McIntyre, Jr., President and CEO of TriWest Healthcare Alliance.
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About Health Care Service Corporation
Health Care Service Corporation is the country's largest customer-owned health insurer, with more than 17.5 million members in its health plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. A Mutual Legal Reserve Company, HCSC is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
Colleen Miller
Colleen_Miller@hcsc.net