News Briefs: Centene Shakes Up C-Suite

Centene Corp. on Dec. 14 made several C-suite changes in order to “position the company for its next stage of growth.” Ken Fasola, who is currently the firm’s executive vice president of Health Care Enterprises, will be Centene’s new president, while current Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer Jim Murray will become EVP, chief operating officer and report to Fasola. In addition, Dave Thomas will transition from EVP of Markets to CEO of Markets and Medicaid, and President and Chief Operating Officer Brent Layton will become senior adviser to CEO Sarah London “as he begins his transition towards retirement,” the company said. 

Separately, Centene on its investor day projected total revenues in the range of $137.4 billion to $139.4 billion and adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) in the range of $6.25 to $6.40 in 2023. The firm also said it expects a health benefits ratio (also known as medical loss ratio) of 87.2% to 87.8% next year. “CNC’s ’23 outlook included EPS as expected, though revenue was light,” Jefferies analyst David Windley advised investors in a Dec. 18 research note. He added that Centene’s long-term targets for revenue growth by segment and consolidated EPS growth “are favorable to recent performance, and squarely within a common range across MCOs.”