Centene to offer buyouts to certain employees

Two cents It said it offered buyouts to some employees on Monday, as the health insurer faces rising medical costs, funding cuts and declining membership.

“Centene positions the company to lead the future of healthcare – working to deliver a simpler, better experience for our members and partners while meeting the realities of today’s healthcare environment,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “Today we announced a voluntary separation program to support employees who may be considering a move.”

The company did not indicate how many employees it has offered takeovers to or the extent to which it aims to reduce its workforce. Shares initially fell 4% after Bloomberg first reported the news on Monday.

Bloomberg reported that layoffs could follow if the company does not meet its voluntary separation goal.

Centene is the largest Medicaid provider and focuses on other federal health plans through Medicare and the Affordable Care Act. The acquisitions come after the company reported a decline in membership in the first quarter, down 6% year over year to 26.3 million, according to the filing.

Centene’s ACA business lost about 2 million more members in the first quarter than at the end of 2025, mainly because Congress allowed enhanced federal support in the program to expire at the beginning of the year. The company also said in March that it expects ACA membership to decline about 40% by the end of 2026, executives said in March at a Barclays conference.

Centenary is bracing for the impact of more than $900 billion in cuts to Medicaid over a decade, and the broader insurance industry continues to manage higher-than-expected medical costs in privately run Medicare plans.