Centene's Carolina Complete Health Wins Medicaid Contract

Centene Corporation’s CNC provider-led North Carolina unit Carolina Complete Health has won a contract to offer Medicaid managed care services in Region 4 (Raleigh/Durham area). This feat is an addition to its current North Carolina Medicaid contract. Announced in February 2019, this new three-year contract is effective Feb 1, 2020. Moreover, it can be renewed for up to two extra years.

This deal would enable Carolina Complete Health to deliver Medicaid managed care services in three adjacent geographies that are Region 3 (Charlotte area), Region 4 (Raleigh/Durham area) and Region 5 (Wilmington and Fayetteville areas).

With its headquarters in Charlotte, Caroline Complete Health has other offices in Raleigh-Durham and Wilmington and it is expected to provide jobs to more than 350 North Carolinians.

This latest contract will help the company focus on providing patient-focused Medicaid services. It is constantly making efforts to tie up with local providers so that patients can enjoy better health outcomes.

To meet its goal of dispensing improved whole-person care and look for ways to address various factors related to health and localized care management, Carolina Complete Health finds recourse in a transformative model that leads to physicians’ active involvement in the ownership of the health plan. Notably, this provider-led subsidiary of Centene is a joint venture partnership with the North Carolina Medical Society and North Carolina Community Health Center Association.

In April 2019, its New Hampshire subsidiary NH Healthy Families was selected by the New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) to continue offering quality, coordinated healthcare to statewide enrollees under the New Hampshire Medicaid Care Management (MCM) program.

In August, the company announced the expansion of offerings in the 2020 Health Insurance Marketplace by penetrating 10 markets, namely Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Washington to gain a strong foothold for establishment in the marketplace business.

The company is on course to buy WellCare Health Plans, Inc. WCG, which is expected to close by the first half of 2020. This combined entity will have a wider scale and diversification with more than 12 million Medicaid and around 5 million Medicare members. In total, it will have almost 22 million members across 50 US states. Presumably, this new entity will have estimated pro forma 2019 revenues in excess of $100 billion and an EBITDA of $5 billion. All these initiatives bode well for the company.

Shares of this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company have lost nearly 39.8% in a year's time, wider than its industry's decline of 18.6%.

Stocks to Consider

Investors interested in the medical sector might consider some better-ranked stocks like Molina Healthcare, Inc. MOH and HCA Healthcare, Inc. HCA. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Molina offers Medicaid-related solutions to meet the healthcare needs of low-income families and individuals. In the trailing four quarters, the company’s average beat was 66.9%. The stock sports a Zacks Rank of 1.

HCA provides health care services. In the last four quarters, the company delivered average beat of 15.74%. It carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

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