February 2025 saw an important False Claims Act settlement involving allegations of known cybersecurity failures by Health Net Federal Services Inc. (HNFS), a government contractor that provides TRICARE healthcare management services to active duty military members and their families. HNFS as well as its parent corporation Centene agreed to pay just over $11 million to resolve alleged false claims submitted to the U.
S. Department of Defense. While American values dictate that we thank service members for their role in protecting our freedoms, this government contractor instead chose to submit false claims in order to keep up their deal with the Department of Defense.
Ultimately, it was taxpayers who footed the bill for fraud and false claims with government contractors. Taxpayers should never pay for shoddy services, especially not when it comes to healthcare and protecting personal and sensitive data relating to military members and their families. The Allegations Against Health Net Federal Services, LLC and Centene Corporation According to the DOJ, parent corporation Centene and its subsidiary Health Net Federal Services (HNFS) failed to meet these minimum cybersecurity protocols between the period of 2015 and 2018 while providing data management services to the U.
S. Department of Defense through its administration of TRICARE. HNFS may have exposed U.
S. service members’ personal and health data, as well as that of their families, due to failing to scan for known vulnerabi.
