Centene Corporation announced on June 13 that it will begin offering insurance under the Affordable Care Act in three new states in 2018: Missouri, Kansas, and Nevada. It will also be expanding its offerings in six existing markets: Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Texas, and Washington.
Centene, headquarted in Clayton, Mo., increases the number of individual healthcare plan issuers in Missouri from four to five, and from three to four in Kansas and Nevada. These plans, offered on the health insurance marketplace HealthCare.gov, allow individuals to purchase health insurance online.
Between December 2016 and March 2017, the number of exchange members Centene serves grew from 537,200 to 1.2 million. Ninety percent of those customers are eligible for federal subsidies on their insurance.
“Centene recognizes there is uncertainty of new healthcare legislation, but we are well positioned to continue providing accessible, high quality and culturally-sensitive healthcare services to our members,” stated Michael F Neidorff, president and CEO of Centene.
Centene’s announcement stands in contrast to those providers who are decreasing coverage. It did not, however, state whether their Missouri insurance offerings will cover the 25 Western Missouri counties currently without an ACA insurer.
Centene stated it is committed to working closely with regulators and policymakers to collaborate on the actions that stabilize the market and offer affordable and high quality coverage options.
Centene’s announcement came three weeks after Blue Cross Blue Shield Kansas City announced it will no longer offer coverage on the Exchange in 2018, leaving 67,000 Missouri and Kansas customers uninsured.
