Health Net Protests Loss of Tricare Contract, Layoffs Uncertain

Health Net, a health insurance company with headquarters in Rancho Cordova, has filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office over the loss of their Tricare contract to Aetna.

The Tricare contract provides healthcare to millions of military personnel and is awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense. Health Net lost the contract to Aetna on July 13, and soon after Standard and Poor downgraded their stock to a BB-.

The company filed a protest on July 20, stating that their competitors had an unfair advantage because of pricing information that was posted on the internet, according to bizjournals.com.

Health Net is not sure when a decision will be made on their protest.

“It could take up to 100 days or longer,” Health Net spokesperson Molly Tuttle said. “It’s really up to the discretion of the government.”

Layoffs could be on the horizon if the Government Accountability Office finds nothing wrong with the way the information about the contract was posted, but Tuttle said it’s too early to speculate.

“It’s all depending on the protest,” Tuttle said. “We still have a contract to finish out.”

The Health Net Tricare contract could expire on March 31, 2010 if the new contract remains with Aetna.