Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Inc., Partners with TriWest Healthcare Alliance on Contract to Administer TRICARE West Region Contract for the Department of Defense

PHOENIX, Dec. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona today announced that it will 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 (ADSMs), active duty family members (ADFMs), 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. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona provided the network of medical professionals in the state of Arizona to support that contract, and is looking forward to returning to this privileged work alongside TriWest to serve the TRICARE-eligible population. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona is proud to return to this work and provide a network of approximately 39,000 medical professionals who will step up for this noble population in our local communities. 

"We are honored to be working alongside TriWest to offer healthcare services to our active-duty members and veterans," said Pam Kehaly, President and Chief Executive Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. "These heroes and their family members deserve access to quality care, and we look forward to doing our part."

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona has teamed with TriWest to help execute the next generation of TRICARE contracts and achieve excellence in network performance in support of DoD's noble mission. 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 US 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. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona will provide a local network for both contracts.

"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 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona to serve our nation's heroes under the T-5 contract," said David J. McIntyre, Jr., President and CEO of TriWest Healthcare Alliance.

To learn more about T-5 and TRICARE, visit www.tricare.mil.

SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona