Centene to exit California, Oregon group markets

Centene will exit the California and Oregon commercial group markets next year. The company sells commercial insurance under the Health Net brand in both states. The change will not affect Centene’s Affordable Care Act health insurance exchanges, Medicaid or Medicare lines of business, a company spokesperson said.“Health Net has made the decision to exit the traditional commercial group business in California and Oregon in order to focus on government-sponsored healthcare,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson did not offer details about how many individuals would be affected by the shift. Nationwide, Centene serves nearly 500,000 enrollees through its commercial plans, representing less than 2% of its 25.9 million members. Centene, the market leader in Medicaid and the health insurance exchanges, has spent the last year restructuring its operations as it grapples with decliningenrollment and a looming $1 trillion in federal program cuts. The company announced Monday that former Fannie Mae Chief Information Officer Brian Bolivar will become head of technology operations at the insurer and that current CIO Brian LeClaire will retire in October. Longtime Chief Financial Officer Drew Asher announced plans earlier in August to step down from his position at the end of the year. He will remain at Centene until he retires at the end of 2027. Former Lincoln Financial Group CFO Chris Neczypor will take over next year. Last month, Centene also notified Medicare Advantage marketers that it planned to exit three states and cut plans representing a third of its overall private Medicare membership.In July, the insurer announced that it will withdraw from the Arkansas Medicaid expansion program and announced plans to exit the marketplace in New Hampshire in 2027. The announcements followed voluntary buyouts offered in June to some employees.