Defense giant Northrop Grumman has signed a nearly $92m contract with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to build the second phase of a computer system that's currently focused on reducing fraud but down the road will play a greater role in anticipating beneficiaries' medical disorders.

It's a prominent example of how public and private insurers are spending millions of dollars on "big data" - using advanced technology to predict people's future healthcare needs based on their interactions with doctors, hospitals and pharmacies, as well as information gleaned from other sources, such as social media.

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