Optum wins $55B in VA care network contracts

UnitedHealth Group’s Optum health services business has won three contracts with a combined $55.1 billion ceiling value to help manage the Veterans Affairs Department’s future network of care service providers.

These awards fall under the VA’s Community Care Network contract vehicle that acts as a standardized mechanism for the department to purchase care for veterans from community health providers and cover care coordination, the VA said Dec. 28.

The Community Care Network was established after the June 2018 signature of the VA Mission Act into law. CCN aims to connect veterans with medical, dental and pharmacy benefits if they are unable to access those at local VA medical centers.

CCN is divided into six regions for all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Pacific territories.

Optum’s trio of contract awards cover work in CCN regions one, two and three. Those regions include 36 states in the Eastern and Central time zones; plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The contract has an initial base term of one year followed by seven individual option years.

An award for Region 4 is anticipated by April for services in the 14 Mountain and Pacific time zone states, plus Hawaii. The VA is planning an award for Regions 5 and 6 by the end of this year.

Region 5 is Alaska and Region 6 includes Pacific territories of American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

TriWest Healthcare Alliance has expanded its network to support veteran and provider care coordination across the nation until CCN is fully rolled out.