Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama announced Friday that it will be supporting a 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. In a statement, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama expressed pride in its’ involvement with TriWest.

“It is our privilege to be a part of the TriWest team that will be supporting the DoD in its provision of health care services to our nation’s heroes,” said Tim Vines, President and CEO, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama. “Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama is honored to help support the company’s efforts 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 community under the West Region contract.”

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.

“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 and Blue Shield of Alabama to support our efforts in serving our nation’s heroes under the T-5 contract,” said David J. McIntyre, Jr., President and CEO of TriWest Healthcare Alliance.