Centene Reports $599 Million Profit On Medicaid And Medicare Growth – Forbes
Centene reported nearly $600 million in fourth quarter 2021 profit as membership grew by more than 1 … [+]
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Centene reported nearly $600 million in fourth quarter profits as membership grew by more than 1 million thanks to a big increase in enrollment in its Medicare and Medicaid plans, the company said Tuesday.
Centene, which sells an array of government subsidized health insurance including Obamacare, said total “managed care membership” increased by 1.1 million members, or 4%, to 26.6 million compared to 25.5 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2020.
Such growth helped Centene’s revenues jump 15% to $32.6 billion. Net income was $599 million in the fourth quarter compared to a $12 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2020.
“We ended 2021 with strong fourth quarter results at the high end of our previously provided earnings guidance range,” said Centene chairman and chief executive Michael Neidorff, who is retiring later this year. Neidorff, who has been Centene’s CEO since 1996, will also take on a new role as executive chairman until the end of 2022.
In the meantime, Neidorff said Centene’s “portfolio is performing well as we executed across our three major product lines.”
Under Neidorff, Centene has grown into a national healthcare giant with revenues that eclipsed $126 billion in 2021 as more Americans sign up for Medicaid, the health insurance for low income patients it manages via contracts with states and individual coverage under the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare hits record levels. And Centene has expanded into the business of Medicare Advantage, the privatized health benefits myriad health insurers offer senior via contract with the federal government.
Centene’s Medicaid membership ended the fourth quarter at 15 million compared to nearly 13.6 million in the year ago period while Medicare enrollment jumped to 1.25 million compared to 955,400 in the year ago period. Meanwhile, Centene said its Obamacare enrollment from the health insurance marketplace was 2,140,500 as of the end of 2021 compared to 2,131,600 in 2020.
