Obamacare Leads Centene To $713 Million Profit Even As Medicaid Dips

Centene reported a third quarter profit of $713 million as Obamacare enrollment and premium revenue ...

[+] helped overcome a big dip in Medicaid enrollment, the company said October 25, 2024. In this photo, the building housing Centene Corporation headquarters is seen Thursday, July 2, 2015, in Clayton, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) Centene reported a third quarter profit of $713 million as Obamacare enrollment and premium revenue helped overcome a big dip in Medicaid enrollment.



Centene, which sells an array of government subsidized health insurance including Medicaid coverage for poor Americans and individual commercial insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare, on Friday reported net income of $713 million, or $1.36 a share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to $469 million, or 87 cents a share, in the third quarter of 2023.

Centene said total managed care membership grew to 28.64 million compared to 27.96 million at the end of the third quarter of 2023 thanks largely to Obamacare enrollment.

Centene’s enrollment in individual coverage under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, grew what Centene calls its “commercial marketplace” business 22% to 4.5 million members from nearly 3.7 million a year ago.

That increase of more than one million health plan members helped overcome a more than 2 million decrease in enrollment in Centene’s Medicaid plans for poor Americans. "Our diversified portfolio has allowed us to successfully navigate a dynamic landscape in the quarter,” Centene chief executive officer of Sarah M. London said in a statement accompanying earnings.

“At the same time, we delivered on fundamentals that carry positive implications for Centene's multi-year earnings trajectory, including notable (request for proposal) wins, Medicare Stars improvements and ongoing operational efficiencies. We remain confident in our full year outlook for adjusted diluted EPS of greater than $6.80 and are well positioned to capture the powerful, long-term growth opportunities we see in government-sponsored healthcare.

" Centene’s confidence and earnings, which beat analysts’ expectations, come despite a drop by more than 2 million to 13 million Medicaid enrollees in the quarter compared to 15.2 million last year. That triggered a 1% drop in premium and service revenue to $21.

3 billion. Here’s The Exact Time ‘Black Ops 6’ Launches On PC, Xbox And PS5 In Every Timezone [Update] Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers For Friday, October 25 SpaceX’s Crew-8 Returns NASA Astronauts To Earth After 7 Months The deterioration of Medicaid enrollment is an industrywide problem thanks largely to the end of the U.S.

public health emergency declared for the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S.

public health emergency kept record numbers of people covered by not kicking anyone off Medicaid while Congress and the Biden administration increased and expanded subsidies so more Americans to afford individual Obamacare coverage under the Affordable Care Act. That has helped Centene keep its total health insurance enrollment growing. The growth in commercial marketplace, or Obamacare, helped increase “premium and service revenues” 6% to $36.

89 billion from $34.96 billion in the second quarter of 2023. Enrollment is shifting nationally given the end last May 2023 of the U.

S. public health emergency that boosted the number of Americans covered when Medicaid redetermination temporarily ended three years ago. Medicaid redetermination, also described as Medicaid renewal or Medicaid recertification, is essentially when people are asked to show they are qualified for such coverage.

.