Centene Corporation
Acquisitions
4
Major Deals Covered
$30.1B
Disclosed Deal Value
Centene's largest disclosed acquisition here is WellCare Health Plans for $17.3B in 2020. This page covers 4 major deals from 2016 to 2022, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.
| Company | Year | Price | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Net, Inc. | 2016 | $6.8B | Expand Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial scale, especially in Western U.S. markets. |
| Fidelis Care | 2018 | $3.8B | Expand into New York Medicaid managed care. |
| WellCare Health Plans | 2020 | $17.3B | Increase national government-program scale and Medicare presence. |
| Magellan Health | 2022 | $2.2B | Add behavioral health, specialty healthcare, and pharmacy-related capabilities. |
2022
$2.2B
Add behavioral health, specialty healthcare, and pharmacy-related capabilities.
Broadened Centene's health-services capabilities beyond core insurance.
Magellan's behavioral health business stayed with Centene, while the Magellan Rx pharmacy benefit unit was sold to Prime Therapeutics in 2023 as part of Centene's portfolio simplification.
2020
$17.3B
Increase national government-program scale and Medicare presence.
Expanded Medicare and Medicaid membership across states.
WellCare made Centene a major Medicare Advantage and Part D player, and the Wellcare name became Centene's main Medicare brand.
2018
$3.8B
Expand into New York Medicaid managed care.
Added a large New York membership base.
Fidelis Care made Centene a leading Medicaid and Marketplace carrier in New York. The proceeds created the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation.
2016
$6.8B
Expand Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial scale, especially in Western U.S. markets.
Added large membership and state-plan presence.
Health Net became the core of Centene's California and Western U.S. platform, adding Medi-Cal, Medicare, commercial and TRICARE business. Centene later faced shareholder litigation alleging it had not fully disclosed Health Net's financial problems at the time of the deal.
Under CEO Sarah London, who succeeded Michael Neidorff in 2022, Centene has narrowed its focus to U.S. government-sponsored health plans. It sold non-core assets such as Magellan Rx, its Spanish hospital operator Ribera Salud and UK-based Circle Health, outsourced pharmacy benefit management to Express Scripts, and cut administrative costs. Growth now centers on repricing Marketplace plans for profitability, expanding Medicare Part D (8.8 million PDP members at June 30, 2026), dual-eligible Medicaid-Medicare plans, and improving Medicare Advantage Star Ratings.
Centene earns most of its money from premiums paid by governments. State Medicaid agencies pay it a fixed monthly amount per enrolled member to manage that member's care; the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) pays it for Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans; and ACA Marketplace members pay Ambetter premiums that are largely funded by federal tax credits. Centene then contracts with doctors, hospitals and pharmacies and profits only if total medical costs plus administrative expenses come in below those premiums. That spread is thin: in Q2 2026 its health benefits ratio was 89.6% and its SG&A ratio 7.0%, so small swings in medical use or rates move earnings sharply.
In January 2020, Centene acquired WellCare Health Plans for $17.3 billion in cash and stock, creating the nation's premier government-sponsored managed care insurer with large scale across Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, and Medicare Part D.
In March 2016, Centene acquired California-based Health Net, expanding into the Medi-Cal market and adding Medicare, commercial and TRICARE business.
In July 2018, Centene acquired the operations of New York Catholic health plan Fidelis Care for $3.75 billion, creating the largest Medicaid and health insurance exchange carrier in New York State and creating the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation.
Centene completed its acquisition of Magellan Health in January 2022. It kept Magellan's behavioral health business and sold the Magellan Rx pharmacy benefit unit to Prime Therapeutics in 2023.
Centene built international hospital and health-services holdings, including Spain's Ribera Salud and UK-based Circle Health, but sold them in 2023-2024 to refocus on U.S. health plans.
Centene owns Health Net, Wellcare, Fidelis Care, Magellan Health's behavioral business, the Ambetter Marketplace brand and state Medicaid plans such as Superior HealthPlan in Texas and Sunshine Health in Florida.
Centene finances strategic acquisitions through a combination of corporate cash reserves, common equity issuance, and low-cost senior investment-grade notes while managing leverage ratios to protect insurance solvency ratings.
Under Sarah London, Centene has shifted from large acquisitions to divestitures, cost cutting and margin repair.
In 2020, Centene executed a massive $17 billion acquisition of WellCare Health Plans, instantly making them the absolute largest Medicaid and Medicare Advantage provider in the United States.
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