Centene Corporation Notified of Decision for Ohio Medicaid Contract

Centene Corporation CNC has been notified by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) that Buckeye Community Health Plan, Centene's Ohio subsidiary, was one of four incumbent health plans that was not awarded a contract to continue serving Medicaid members in Ohio, effective January 2013. Centene intends to file a formal protest within the required seven-day notice period. Buckeye currently employs 300 local employees and serves 159,900 members in four service regions of the state. Buckeye has been a participant in the Ohio Medicaid Managed Care Program since 2004 for Covered Families and Children (CFC) and since 2007 for Aged, Blind and Disabled (ABD). "We are extremely disappointed in the state's decision and plan to formally protest the outcome," said Jesse Hunter, Executive Vice President of Operations of Centene. "We believe there were fundamental flaws in the procurement process, and we plan to pursue all available remedies."