Centene Corporation CNC recently unveiled that its Iowa-based subsidiary, Iowa Total Care, has been selected by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to continue delivering Medicaid managed care services to members of the Iowa Health Link program. The new agreement, likely to commence on July 1, 2025, will initially run for a tenure of four years and can be extended for up to two years.
This program serves eligible adults, children and pregnant women enrolled in Iowa Medicaid, the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan, and Healthy and Well Kids in Iowa (Hawki). The new contract will enable the Centene subsidiary to provide uninterrupted coordinated physical, behavioral and long-term care to more than 218,600 members scattered across all the 99 counties of Iowa and enrolled in the abovementioned health plans.
In addition to this, the latest move will also serve as a means for the CNC unit to widen the scope of its home and community-based services and continue pursuing a collaborative approach with Iowa’s community partners. The ulterior aim remains to minimize healthcare disparities, provide whole-person care and bring about improved health outcomes for the targeted members of the state.
Benefits of the Contract Win for Centene Stock
Centene's unit stands to gain from the potential to attract more beneficiaries of Iowa Medicaid, the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan and Hawki health plans as a result of the latest contract win. This is expected to expand CNC’s Medicaid customer base and enhance its presence in Iowa. Iowa Total Care has catered to the health needs of the state for five years.
The strength of Centene's Medicaid business likely influenced HHS’ decision to select Iowa Total Care as one of the three Medicaid managed care organizations to be awarded the contract. An expected increase in membership is anticipated to generate higher premium revenues, which form a substantial portion of a health insurer's revenues. In the second quarter of 2024, Centene reported $20.3 billion in premiums from its Medicaid business line.
Medicaid is a crucial division for Centene, comprising a significant portion of its total membership, which was 13.1 million as of June 30, 2024.
Besides the recent contract win in Iowa, Centene has secured Medicaid contracts in Kansas, Michigan and New Hampshire in 2024. The insurer continues to enhance its Medicaid business through partnerships with providers and substantial investments. In addition to Medicaid, Centene also offers Medicare and Marketplace plans across the United States.
CNC’s Share Price Performance
Shares of Centene have risen 15.7% in the past year compared with the industry’s 22.2% growth.
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Zacks Rank & Key Picks
CNC currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks from the Medical space are DaVita Inc. DVA, Avanos Medical, Inc. AVNS and The Pennant Group, Inc. PNTG. While DaVita sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present, Avanos Medical and Pennant carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
DaVita’s earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 24.24%. The consensus estimate for DVA’s 2024 earnings and revenues indicates an improvement of 18% and 5.4%, respectively, from the 2023 reported figures.
The consensus estimate for DaVita’s earnings has moved 1.1% north in the past seven days. Shares of DVA have gained 50.5% in the past year.
Avanos Medical’s earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark once, the average surprise being 5.69%. The consensus estimate for AVNS’ 2024 earnings implies an improvement of 35% from the 2023 figure.
The consensus estimate for Avanos Medical’s earnings has moved 0.7% north in the past 60 days. Shares of AVNS have gained 17.7% in the past year.
Pennant’s earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and matched the mark once, the average surprise being 7.67%. The consensus estimate for PNTG’s 2024 earnings and revenues indicates an improvement of 23.3% and 24.4%, respectively, from the 2023 figures.
The consensus estimate for Pennant’s earnings has moved 1.1% north in the past 30 days. Shares of PNTG have gained 192.3% in the past year.
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