St. Louis-based Centene Corp. will sell health plans on Missouri's ACA exchange next year, covering counties that previously had no participating insurers.
The payer extended its Ambetter product to 40 counties in Missouri. The coverage area includes the 25 counties left bare after Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Mo.) decided against selling individual ACA health plans in a 32-county service area in Missouri and Kansas for 2018. BCBS of Kansas City cited unsustainable losses on the individual market as reason for its exit.
Michael Neidorff, chairman, president and CEO of Centene, said the company strives "to be a responsible partner with the state and [is] committed to working closely with regulators and policymakers to collaborate on actions that stabilize the market and offer affordable coverage options."