Centene's (CNC) Unit Secures Medicaid Contract in Mississipi
The Mississippi subsidiary of Centene Corp. CNC — Magnolia Health — will be serving Medicaid enrollees in the region. Medicaid is the state-federal program that covers the poor.
The unit has been selected by the Mississippi Division of Medicaid (the Division) to insure Medicaid enrollees on the Mississippi Coordinated Access Network (MississippiCAN) program.
MississippiCAN aims to provide easy access to medical services, improve quality of care and population health, and provide efficient and cost-effective services under the Medicaid program.
The three-year contract is expected to go into effect by the middle of next year, pending regulatory approval.
Magnolia Health has been providing Medicaid plans to the people of the region via the MississippiCAN program since 2011.
Recently, Molina Healthcare, Inc.’s MOH wholly owned subsidiary, Molina Healthcare of Mississippi, Inc., was selected to participate in the MississippiCAN program.
Centene and Molina have high exposure to Medicaid which is their core business. Both companies have experienced an increase in their top line under Obamacare which led to Medicaid expansion and caused states to outsource this business to private players.
Centene has been able to increase its Medicaid enrollment via successful operations on public exchanges at a time when other big players in the industry like UnitedHealth Group Inc. UNH and Anthem Inc. ANTM among others are fleeing from exchanges crying losses.
However, the recent draft bill released by the Senate calls for funding cuts to Medicaid over time, albeit gradually. Per the Senate draft bill, all the 31 states that opted for Medicaid expansion will keep on receiving federal funding aid till 2023, although at a lower rate from 2021. The bill calls for curtailing federal support to Medicaid expansion in 2024, which then might cause states to end Medicaid expansion. But that still is a far-fetched proposition and the insurer can breathe easy for now.
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