Post-COVID, Centene Foresees Expansion in MA and Medicaid
Providing updated guidance three months into the COVID-19 pandemic, managed Medicaid leader Centene Corp. last month raised its full year adjusted earnings per share outlook by 20 cents at the midpoint to an EPS range of $4.76 to $4.96. And while only an estimated 7% of 2019 revenue came from Medicare, executives recently emphasized Centene’s expectation that the Medicare market will be a growth driver going forward.
During its 2020 Virtual Investor Day on June 12, the insurer said it expects total revenues for full year 2020 to be between $109.5 billion and $111.9 billion. That’s a reduction of $500 million due to the delayed start date of its North Carolina Medicaid pact. Centene also said it expects overall membership growth to peak in the third quarter with an increase of approximately 1.9 million members, driven in large part by Medicaid. Centene as of March 31 served 23.8 million enrollees, including 11.8 million Medicaid lives. The acquisition of WellCare Health Plans, Inc., which closed in January, roughly doubled Centene’s Medicare Advantage membership to 976,700 lives. WellCare also had 4.4 million stand-alone Prescription Drug Plan members as of March 31.