HEALTH CARE

Judge Backs Aetna on Huge Military Contract: A federal judge gave Aetna Life & Casualty Co. the green light to take over a health care contract for 800,000 military dependents and retirees in California and Hawaii on Feb. 1. Foundation Health Corp. and QualMed Inc., rivals for the bitterly contested $3.5-billion contract, had asked a federal court in Virginia for an injunction barring Aetna from proceeding. When the five-year contract was awarded in July, Foundation and QualMed objected that the bids were improperly evaluated. The Pentagon agreed and decided to rebid the contract by next July 31, but in the interim ordered Aetna to proceed with the first year of the contract as scheduled.