In a move that will affect more than 1 million military personnel and their families living in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, Anthem will sell the Tricare operations of its subsidiary, Anthem Alliance, to Humana for an undisclosed sum.

Anthem says it will shed its successful Tricare business in order to concentrate on its core business, Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans. "Tricare is outside this focus," says Barbara J. Gagel, chairman of the board of Anthem Alliance.

Under the proposed agreement, Humana will acquire the managed care contracts for Tricare Heartland (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and portions of Missouri, Tennessee, and Iowa) and Tricare Mid-Atlantic (North Carolina and most of Virginia).

Tricare is the health plan for the United States Department of Defense, providing benefits to both active and retired military personnel and their dependents. The transfer of Anthem Alliance's operations to Humana's subsidiary, Humana Military Healthcare Services, is expected to become effective by May 31, 2001.