Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HIMSS 2023
  • Opinion
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - AI and Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Finance
July 26, 2016 12:00 AM

Struggling with Health Net, Centene will drop many Arizona ACA plans

Bob Herman
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    Massive losses surrounding Health Net's individual exchange plans overshadowed the second quarter at Centene Corp., which almost doubled profit and revenue. As a result, Centene will exit a “considerable amount” of exchange business in Arizona next year.

    Investors sold off shares of Centene Tuesday because of the Health Net worries, pushing the company's stock price down as much as 15% during morning trading. Centene closed the day at $68.87, an 8.5% drop.

    Centene reported a $169 million profit on $10.9 billion of revenue in the second quarter this year, up significantly from an $88 million profit on $5.5 billion of revenue in same period last year. Centene also raised its earnings projections for the rest of the year. But the integration of Health Net, which Centene acquired earlier this year, has revealed structural problems.

    Health Net had a larger footprint in the Affordable Care Act's exchanges than Centene, a health insurer that mostly contracts with states to provide Medicaid coverage to low-income people. However, Centene has profited from its ACA plans while others have drowned in losses.

    Yet, in the second quarter, Centene was forced to report a $300 million premium deficiency reserve, an accounting measure that factors in a probable future loss. Like UnitedHealth Group and several other large insurers that have reported similar premium deficiency reserves, Centene attributed the losses to high claims from the individual and small-group exchanges.

    Centene's ACA exchange profits remain “at the high end of our targeted range,” but acquiring Health Net dragged the company down. Executives tried to quell the panic by saying the issues are being resolved through price hikes and benefit design changes, and the problems won't impact the company in 2017.

    “We believe we have effectively addressed these concerns,” Centene CEO Michael Neidorff said on an investor call Tuesday. “They are manageable.”

    Specifically, the losses were tied to “unfavorable performance” in Health Net's Arizona and California individual markets. That included a lack of risk-corridor funding and detrimental effects from the “grandmothering” of older, pre-ACA plans, which means they only had to comply with some of the ACA's standards. Health Net also has PPO plans with broader networks of hospitals and doctors, which often appeal to sicker people who are willing to pay higher premiums if it means their providers are in-network. Conversely, Centene offers more high-deductible, narrow-network plans with cheaper premiums, plans that attract price-sensitive consumers.

    Neidorff and Jeffrey Schwaneke, Centene's new chief financial officer, also said “disputed” substance abuse center claims and Health Net's low-performing Medicare contracts factored into the anticipated losses.

    Centene has about 618,000 ACA exchange members, as of June 30, and executives estimate that will whittled down to about 550,000 by year-end. Starting in 2017, Centene will stop offering health plans in a “considerable amount” of Arizona, although no details were given.

    The St. Louis-based insurer ended the second quarter with 11.4 million members, more than 1 million of whom received coverage due to the ACA's Medicaid expansion. Outside of the exchanges, Centene continues to win Medicaid managed-care contracts, as well as contracts tied to prison healthcare and military health coverage.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Copy of finance_arrows_down_WEB_i_i_i.jpg
    Dozens of hospitals, health systems see credit rating downgrades
    Copy of states hospital costs_WEB_i.jpg
    Mark Cuban-backed study finds price discrepancies in hospital services
    Most Popular
    1
    Centene to lay off 2,000 workers
    2
    How health systems are battling price-gouging allegations
    3
    Senate advances bill to temporarily aid hospitals, health centers
    4
    Elevance, Blue Cross Louisiana halt $2.5B proposed deal
    5
    Tower Health to sell urgent care centers, close others
    Sponsored Content
    Daily Finance Newsletter: Sign up to receive daily news and data that has a direct impact on the business and financing of healthcare.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HIMSS 2023
    • Opinion
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - AI and Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing