Centene reported second quarter profits of $1 billion as membership grew by nearly 2 million thanks … [+]
Centene reported second quarter profits of $1 billion as membership grew by nearly 2 million thanks to an increase in enrollment in Obamacare plans, the health insurer said Friday.
Centene, which sells an array of government subsidized health insurance including Obamacare, said total managed care membership increased to 28.41 million, compared to 26.43 million at the end of the second quarter of 2022. Centene’s enrollment in individual coverage under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, grew what Centene calls its “commercial marketplace” business to nearly 3.3 million members from 2 million a year-ago.
Such growth helped Centene’s “premium and service revenues” increase 3% to $34.8 billion from $34.0 billion in the year-ago period.
“Our strong second quarter performance demonstrates Centene’s ability to deliver excellent financial results in a dynamic healthcare landscape,” Centene’s Chief Executive Officer Sarah M. London said. “New business wins, strong Marketplace membership growth and continued advancement of our Value Creation Plan contributed to another solid quarter of execution. We are increasing our full year 2023 adjusted diluted EPS guidance, reflecting year-over-year growth of at least 12%, consistent with our long-term growth algorithm.”
The Biden administration said earlier this year that a record of more than 16 million Americans have signed up for 2023 healthcare coverage known as Obamacare that began Jan. 1, 2023 via the more than 30 states that use the federal HealthCare.gov marketplace and 18 state-based marketplaces.
But Centene continued to grow such enrollment in the second quarter, which increased by more than 200,000 members from to 3,295,200 from 3,093,600 at the end of the first quarter.
Centene, which is a big national player in providing Medicaid benefits to poor Americans, grew that business to more than 16 million compared to 15.4 million in the year ago period despite the end of the public health emergency.
The U.S. public health emergency kept record numbers of people covered by not kicking anyone off Medicaid but that is slowly beginning to change. The public health emergency ended in May so some states are beginning Medicaid redetermination, also described as Medicaid renewal or Medicaid recertification, which is essentially when people are asked to show they are qualified for such coverage.