Top Healthcare Government Contractors To Watch Out For in 2023
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Top Healthcare Government Contractors To Watch Out For in 2023

The healthcare sector is one of the biggest contractors in the government contracting landscape. Top healthcare government contractors provide federal agencies with high-quality pharmaceutical, health, and human services to better serve American citizens and residents across the United States.

Note: The following list of healthcare government contractors is ranked in no particular order. The selection criteria are based on a variety of factors, including market capitalization, revenue, and overall industry impact. That said, while they are highly regarded in the industry, plenty of other companies also offer exceptional products and services.

How big is the healthcare industry in the U.S.?

How big is the healthcare industry in the U.S.?; Small business administration

The U.S. healthcare sector is a $4.1 trillion industry, accounting for approximately 26% of the nation’s GDP. Most of its revenue comes from government contracting activities of federal agencies such as the Defense Health Agency and the Department of Veterans Affairs with healthcare providers, spanning small businesses to medical giants.

Get to know the top healthcare government contractors to watch out for in 2023.

1. Pfizer Inc.

Pfizer Inc.

  • Revenue: $100.3 billion (FY 2022)
  • Established: 1849
  • CEO: Dr. Albert Bourla
  • Headquarters: New York City, New York

Pfizer Inc. is a private-sector business leader in health and human services. With nearly 180 years of expertise in the business, the company has won several healthcare contracts focused on biopharmaceutical products, medicines, and vaccines.

Pfizer has been one of the key healthcare providers to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. While the federal government is one of the biggest customers of the vaccine, the company also supplied worldwide governments with millions of doses to minimize fatalities and eventually eradicate the virus.

Top Pfizer government contracts

Pfizer secured multiple contracts to provide COVID-19 vaccine doses and Paxlovid supplies for the U.S. government. One of the biggest awards the company received was a $10 billion purchase deal for 500 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, including only the first two shots; boosters shots aren’t covered.

2. McKesson Corporation

McKesson Corporation

  • Revenue: $276 billion (FY 2023)
  • Established: 1833
  • CEO: Brian S. Tyler
  • Headquarters: Irving, Texas

McKesson Corp. is a prime pharmaceutical, health, and medical services contractor. The company pioneered the wholesale drug distribution network and has since been distributing medical supplies to doctors, hospitals, and government agencies in the U.S.

Employing over 49,000 employees across 16 countries, McKesson Corp. operates six business units accountable for distribution and technology. As one of the world’s top medical giants, the company has been crucial in providing disease control and medications for COVID-19, cancer, and more.

Top McKesson government contracts

In 2017, the Defense Logistics Agency awarded McKesson Corporation a $400 million contract to produce the Digital Imaging Network Picture Archiving Communications System (DIN-PACS). The system was developed to transmit electronic images and clinical reports quickly and efficiently.

3. Humana Inc.

Humana Inc.

  • Revenue: $92.9 billion (FY 2022)
  • Established: 1961
  • CEO: Bruce D. Broussard
  • Headquarters: Louisville, Kentucky

Humana Inc. ranks among the top health insurance providers in the United States today. In its early years, the company operated as a nursing home operator and slowly transitioned into hospital management and ownership. Currently, the insurance provider operates across 22 cities in the United States, including Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ohio.

Humana Inc. focuses on human health and well-being through its three segments: Group and Specialty, Retail, and Healthcare Services. One of its biggest subsidiaries is its government contracting business, where the federal government awarded the company to manage defense-related healthcare services under the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Top Humana government contracts

In 2016, Humana’s subsidiary, Humana Military Healthcare Services, secured a $41 billion multi-year agreement to administer TRICARE. The healthcare program was set to serve over 9.6 million active duty, reserve, and retired service members.

4. TriWest Healthcare Alliance

TriWest Healthcare Alliance

  • Revenue: $1.4 billion (FY 2022)
  • Established: 1994
  • CEO: David J. McIntyre, Jr.
  • Headquarters: Phoenix, Arizona

TriWest Healthcare Alliance manages the military health system offered by the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The company is established to provide solely for military and veterans and military communities with convenient and affordable healthcare programs.

For over 17 years, TriWest Healthcare Alliance was responsible for administering the TRICARE programs in Regions 7 and 8. The company has since received several contract awards under DoD and VA, such as the Community Care Network Regions 4 and 5 and Community Care Support.

Top Triwest Healthcare Alliance government contracts

In 2022, Triwest Healthcare Alliance secured a $65 billion contract for managed care support of the Defense Health Agency’s TRICARE Program in the West Region, also known as the T-5 MCS contract. The program covers 26 states in the Western United States.

5. Merck & Co.

Merck & Co.

  • Revenue: $59.3 billion (FY 2022)
  • Established: 1891
  • CEO: Robert M. Davis
  • Headquarters: Rahway, New Jersey

Merck & Co. is a research-intensive biopharmaceutical company supplying special medical supplies, medicines, and vaccines for humans and animals. The company was founded as the American arm of the German organization before becoming a fully-fledged company in 1891. Merck & Co. operates as Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) outside the U.S. and Canada.

With over 130 years of history, Merck & Co. has been at the forefront of research and development to fight life-threatening diseases, such as COVID-19, Ebola, HIV, cancer, and more. Merck & Co. have produced some of the most popular drugs including Clarinex, Fosamax, Implanon, and NuvaRing.

Top Merck & Co. government contracts

Merck & Co. and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics secured various government contracts to supply Molnupiravir, an investigational oral antiviral pill against COVID-19. The joint venture finalized a $1.2 billion contract with the federal government for an initial supply of over 1.7 million courses. The JV procured another 1.4 million courses for $2.2 billion.

6. GSK

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)

  • Revenue: ~$36.8 billion/ £29.3 billion (FY 2022)
  • Established: 2000
  • CEO: Dame Emma Walmsley
  • Headquarters: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

GSK, formerly known as GlaxoSmithKline, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company. The company’s formation in 2000 through the merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham builds on a solid foundation of its predecessors dating back to 1715, which underscores its proven expertise..

GSK has two corporate offices in the U.S., focusing on commercial, research & development, manufacturing, and corporate functions. The company has over 15,000 global employees working on getting ahead of diseases and impacting the health of over 2.5 billion people in the next ten years.

Top GSK government contracts

In 2021, the federal government contracted GSK for a $280 million contract for storing, procuring, and distributing Sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody neutralizer treatment. Another contract worth $975 million was finalized for the 340,048 additional doses of Sotrovimab, including an option for additional 715,680 doses.

7. Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories

  • Revenue: $43.7 billion (FY 2022)
  • Established: 1888
  • CEO: Robert B. Ford
  • Headquarters: Abbott Park, Illinois

Abbott Laboratories is a private-sector business leader in nutrition, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, medical devices, and more. The company has over 115,000 colleagues who serve a diverse portfolio of healthcare products and services in over 160 countries.

Abbott Laboratories owns a selection of featured brands used by thousands of people worldwide, including Similac, PediaSure, Ensure, Glucerna, and more. The company also owns a wide range of pharmaceutical brands to fight various diseases, such as cardiovascular, diabetes care, diagnostics, neuromodulation, nutrition, and medicines.

Top Abbott Laboratories government contract

Abbott Laboratories is a prime contractor of COVID-19 testing kits for the U.S. government. In January 2022, the company secured a $306 million contract for supplying rapid antigen tests. In March 2022, the company was awarded another $1.03 billion for additional supplies of COVID-19 testing kits.

8. Centene Corporation

Centene Corporation

  • Revenue: $144.5 billion (FY 2022)
  • Established: 1984
  • CEO: Sarah London
  • Headquarters: St. Louis, Missouri

Centene Corporation offers managed care support for government-sponsored and privately-owned insurance programs. The company provides high-quality healthcare, health programs, and solutions for members, employees, individuals, families, and communities.

Centene Corporation manages over 28 million members, accounting for nearly 1 in 15 individuals in the U.S. Over 67,200 employees work toward the company’s government contracting landscape, which covers Medicaid, Medicare, and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans under the Health Insurance Marketplace and the TRICARE programs.

Top Centene Corporation government contracts

In 2019, Centene Corporation was one of the winners of a $10 billion contract for the Texas Medicaid contract. The contract provided care for the aged, disabled, and blind (ABD) population across 13 service areas.

9. AmerisourceBergen

AmeriSourceBergen

  • Revenue: $238.6 billion (FY 2022)
  • Established: 2001
  • CEO: Steven H. Collis
  • Headquarters: Conshohocken, Pennsylvania

AmerisourceBergen is a wholesale drug company with large-scale distribution and consulting network for medical business operations and patient services. The company was formed with the merger between Bergen Brunswig and AmeriSource in 2001, but its predecessor companies date back to 1871.

As one of the biggest pharmaceutical sourcing distribution services, AmerisourceBergen manufactures a line of pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter (OTC) products, and healthcare equipment. The company is a top provider of medical supplies for acute care hospitals, independent chain retail pharmacies, clinics, and other alternate site facilities.

Top AmerisourceBergen government contracts

AmerisourceBergen secured a $116 million contract to provide pharmaceuticals and related products for northern and southern regions. The 37-day bridge agreement was finalized by the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support to be used by Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and other defense-related customers.

10. Moderna

Moderna

  • Revenue: $238.6 billion (FY 2022)
  • Established: 2010
  • CEO: Stéphane Bancel
  • Headquarters: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Moderna is a biotechnology company best known for developing a COVID-19 vaccine based on RNA technology. To produce an mRNA vaccine, the company uses RNA therapeutics which carries instructions for proteins to boost immune response. Amid its young history, only founded in 2010, the company has quickly become a top government contractor for healthcare.

While the COVID-19 vaccine is Moderna’s primary product, the company has various developments for vaccines related to influenza, HIV, chikungunya, Zika virus, and cancer. Since its inception, the company has played a transformative role in the medical and healthcare world through its advanced mRNA platform.

Top Moderna government contracts

Amid the COVID-19 global pandemic, the U.S. government contracted various contracts with Moderna for the procurement of the vaccine. In 2021, the company won a $3.3 billion contract to produce 200 million doses of the double-shot SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-1273 vaccine, which should inoculate at least 70% of American adults.

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Gen. Glen VanHerck Cites Need to Counter Hypersonic Weapons
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Gen. Glen VanHerck Cites Need to Counter Hypersonic Weapons

Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck, head of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, said it is imperative for the U.S. and Canada to counter hypersonic weapons as Russia and China move to deploy such capabilities that could avoid detection across several domains, DOD News reported Wednesday.

“Hypersonic weapons are extremely difficult to detect and counter given the weapons’ speed and maneuverability, low flight paths and unpredictable trajectories,” VanHerck said Tuesday during his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces on the defense authorization request for fiscal 2024.

The general cited the need for the military to recognize homeland defense as vital to the country’s contingency plans and power projection overseas.

“In an area of incredible innovation and technological achievement, inflexible, outdated processes are a greater impediment to success than many of our competitors’ advancements,” VanHerck said.

He told lawmakers that the U.S. and Canada should accelerate efforts to improve domain awareness and mentioned how over-the-horizon radars provide NORAD and USNORTHCOM the capability to detect and track potential threats to North America.

VanHerck said the Joint Force needs “predictable and timely funding” to improve capability and resilience and maintain readiness.

He also noted that the Department of Defense must continue to address hiring challenges and improve personnel management.

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DOD Selects 28 Academic Teams for Competitive Research Program Awards
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DOD Selects 28 Academic Teams for Competitive Research Program Awards

The Department of Defense has named 28 collaborative academic teams as awardees under a capacity-building program meant to improve the basic research infrastructure at higher education institutions in underutilized states and territories.

DOD said Wednesday it selected the teams by holding two fiscal year 2022 competitions — Research Collaboration and Capacity Building — under the Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.

The department selected 25 academic teams after evaluating over 115 white papers for the FY22 Research Collaboration competition. Each team will get up to $600,000 over three years to conduct engineering and scientific research in areas in support of the National Defense Strategy.

The Pentagon assessed over 25 white papers and picked three teams from George Washington University, University of South Dakota and the University of New Mexico for the FY22 Capacity Building Competition. The teams will receive up to $1 million each over a period of two years.

“DEPSCoR allows us to tap into institutions that have enormous basic research capability – but have been underutilized by DoD – to enhance U.S. science and engineering research capacity both now and in the long term,” said Bindu Nair, director of DOD’s basic research office.

Johns Hopkins APL Researchers Develop USV Performance Analysis Tool
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Johns Hopkins APL Researchers Develop USV Performance Analysis Tool

A team of researchers at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory is developing a metrics-based approach to evaluating the performance of uncrewed surface vehicles and their compliance with international regulations for preventing collisions at sea.

The Performance Analysis Toolset builds on previous APL research on quantifying good seamanship for unmanned surface vehicle performance evaluation and aims to perform objective evaluations based on subjective collision avoidance protocols, the research center said Wednesday.

“To develop the tool, we sat down with subject-matter experts, asked them what qualities they look for in navigation tests, studied the COLREGS and turned that information into quantifiable metrics,” said Mike Heistand, a systems engineer and senior analyst in APL’s force projection sector.

“From there, we can feed USV navigation data into our scoring algorithm and share results with the sponsor that are consistent and objective,” Heistand explained.

Under the sponsorship of the Naval Sea Systems Command Unmanned Maritime Systems Program Office, APL is testing PAT’s validity by completing a Performance Analysis Toolset – Human Operator Comparison in collaboration with Surface Warfare School Command.

“We want to shed light on how assessments of both autonomous systems and humans may evolve to a new reality where both interact in the real world,” said Kathryn Lahman, program manager for advanced autonomy test and evaluation at APL.

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CISA Recommendations Aim to Guide Federal RD&I in Enhancing Cyber-physical Critical Infrastructure
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CISA Recommendations Aim to Guide Federal RD&I in Enhancing Cyber-physical Critical Infrastructure

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a white paper citing three major gaps in federal research and development efforts to strengthen cyber-physical critical infrastructure.

The report was developed by CISA’s Resilient Investment Planning and Development Working Group, and recommends strategic actions to leverage government funding to help drive R&D and innovation in cyber and physical infrastructure, CISA said Wednesday.

The paper, entitled “Research, Development, and Innovation for Enhancing Resilience of Cyber-physical Critical Infrastructure: Needs and Strategic Actions,” noted that sector-specific federal studies often result in systemic infrastructure risks. 

R&D decision-makers need to consider the social aspects of cyber-physical infrastructure resilience, and how they will translate research knowledge into action, the working group wrote.

The agency recommended that government inter-agencies and their stakeholders collaborate to design models for identifying interconnected infrastructure risks. It also encouraged federal research groups to form RD&I testbeds, and team up with private and public, place-based institutions to effectively implement the relevant RD&I actions at the community level.

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NIST Issues 3rd Revision of Draft Guidance on Controlled Unclassified Information Cybersecurity; Ron Ross Quoted
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NIST Issues 3rd Revision of Draft Guidance on Controlled Unclassified Information Cybersecurity; Ron Ross Quoted

The National Institute of Standards and Technology made changes to its Special Publication 800-171 draft guidance, which sets rules and principles on the cybersecurity of controlled unclassified information in the hands of non-federal organizations.

The third draft revision is based on industry feedback, and includes the alignment of two other NIST publications to enable businesses to easily apply technical controls and meet desired cybersecurity outcomes, the institute said Wednesday.

NIST announced in February that it will update SP 800-171 to keep pace with updates to SP 800-53B, a list of technical tools and controls to help create resilient and secure federal information systems.

In the new version, the institute added state-of-practice cybersecurity controls, and amended criteria for developing security requirements. 

“Protecting CUI, including intellectual property, is critical to the nation’s ability to innovate — with far-reaching implications for our national and economic security,” NIST Fellow Ron Ross commented. “We need to have safeguards that are sufficiently strong to do the job.” 

NIST is open to public comments on the latest revisions until July 14. It plans to publish a final version of SP-800-171 in early 2024.

Senators Introduce Bill to Reform Federal Security Classification System
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Senators Introduce Bill to Reform Federal Security Classification System

A bipartisan group of senators has introduced legislation to reform the federal security classification system to minimize overclassification and prevent the mishandling of sensitive government documents.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in a statement published Wednesday that the Classification Reform Act of 2023 would designate the director of national intelligence as the “executive agent for classification and declassification” of national security information.

According to Wyden, it is highly important to “put someone in charge of modernizing the system so that records are tracked and then declassified and released when appropriate.”

“It is also critical that the rules that govern declassification of records be updated and strengthened and that the entities responsible for oversight of the system be empowered,” he added.

The legislation would: ensure that information remains classified when national security concerns outweigh the public interest, set a 25-year maximum period for classification and require a security review of presidential and vice presidential records.

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Jonathan Pellish Appointed National Space Council Director of Civil Space Policy
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Jonathan Pellish Appointed National Space Council Director of Civil Space Policy

Jonathan Pellish, a former senior staff at NASA, has been appointed director of civil space policy at the National Space Council within the Executive Office of the President.

“I look forward to working with many of you in the coming months as we support each other during this amazing era of scientific discovery and space exploration,” Pellish wrote in a LinkedIn post published Wednesday.

Prior to his appointment, Pellish led the planning and execution activities for NASA’s Electronic Parts and Packaging Program, which provides recommendations on the reliable use of electrical, electronic and electromechanical parts in aerospace applications.

Pellish also served as an associate division chief of the Electrical Engineering Division within the Engineering and Technology Directorate at the Goddard Space Flight Center. 

He started his career at Goddard in 2008 as an aerospace engineer leading the radiation effects and analysis group.

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GAO Report Highlights Need for Federal Modernization Plans for Critical Legacy IT Systems
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GAO Report Highlights Need for Federal Modernization Plans for Critical Legacy IT Systems

The Government Accountability Office has found that two of the eight federal agencies assessed by GAO in 2019 have not yet developed complete modernization plans for critical legacy information technology platforms.

GAO said Wednesday developing such IT modernization plans is key to addressing mission requirements, reducing operating costs and dealing with security risks.

According to the congressional watchdog, the Department of Transportation and the Office of Personnel Management have yet to create comprehensive modernization plans.

GAO also found that the Office of Management and Budget has not yet issued final guidance that would direct agencies to identify IT systems that need to undergo modernization.

“Doing so would provide greater assurance that the risks of continuing to operate legacy systems are being addressed government-wide,” the GAO report reads.

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White House Urges Congress to Consider Proposed FY24 Budget Amendments for Federal Agencies
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White House Urges Congress to Consider Proposed FY24 Budget Amendments for Federal Agencies

President Joe Biden has asked Congress to consider amendments to proposed fiscal year 2024 budgets for the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Agriculture, Education, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Environmental Protection Agency and International Assistance Programs.

“These amendments would not change the base discretionary budget authority requested in my FY 2024 Budget,” Biden wrote in a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday.

The president said the transmittal includes amendments that would shift amounts provided from within DOD to higher priority programs.

The administration, for instance, proposed to increase by $100 million to $6.15 billion the departmentwide procurement account to support the Accelerate Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies program.

“Taken with the request to reduce the Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Defense-Wide account, the total budget authority proposed in the FY 2024 Budget remains unchanged as a result of this amendment,” the document states.

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