Published on 13 Mar 2024 on Zacks via Yahoo Finance

Centene (CNC), Pearl Health Unite to Enhance Value-Based Care

Centene Corporation’s CNC Medicare brand, Wellcare, recently announced its partnership with a startup, Pearl Health, to enhance value-based care services. This multi-year partnership will enable financial risk sharing, thereby allowing both companies to collaborate on innovative initiatives such as value-based care models.

This move bodes well for Centene’s Medicare Advantage members, as overall healthcare costs will be reduced as a result of this collaboration. Pearl Health’s provider enablement technology, coupled with CNC’s care delivery model, will make it easier for clinical teams to offer the customized treatment needed in value-based care. Pearl Health will offer financial tools, data insights and a plethora of value-based care services to improve the quality of value-based care. This program is currently live in South Carolina, and Centene aims to expand this service worldwide in the future. This will aid primary care physicians looking to transition more members to value-based care arrangements.

Although Medicare Advantage represents only a $16 billion revenue stream for CNC, it represents a big opportunity for margin expansion. Centene aims to leverage from duals expansion, improvement in star ratings and network synergies. CNC expects Medicare to grow at a CAGR of 7% by 2033. Moreover, people aged 65+ will grow in population in the coming years, thus benefiting this business. Centene aims to expand its Medicare business with a focus on quality. Thus, this partnership is a time opportune move.