Centene is bolstering its management team with two new senior management postions as health insurers battle higher costs and new policies at the federal level. The building housing Centene Corporation headquarters is seen Thursday, July 2, 2015, in Clayton, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Centene is bolstering its management team by creating two new senior executive positions as health insurers battle higher costs and new policies at the federal level.

Like many of its rival health insurers, the company has been battling rising medical expenses from customers in its health plans and its stock price has been hit hard. In Centene’s case, the company is also facing policy changes after the Republican-led Congress and the Donald Trump White House refused to renew enhanced subsidies for millions of Americans who buy individual coverage under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Centene said Monday it has created two “new executive leadership positions” which will report to company chief executive Sarah London, hiring Daniel Finke as group president, markets and commercial as well as Michael Carson as group president, Medicare and specialty. Both have extensive experience in the health insurance industry, Centene said. Finke’s background includes work as CEO of Convey Health Solutions and a top leadership role at CVS Health’s Aetna, the nation’s third-largest health insurance company.

Meanwhile, Centene said Carson “will have expanded oversight of Centene's Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, Duals, and Specialty businesses.” Carson, who joined Centene in January of 2024, was CEO of “Bright Healthcare and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, as well as CareAbout, a multi-specialty, value-based care delivery organization,” the company said.

"We are pleased to recognize Michael's continued leadership and excited to leverage Dan's deep industry expertise and track record of strategic execution," said Sarah London, Chief Executive Officer of Centene. "Their collective experience will be instrumental as we continue to strengthen performance across the portfolio and deliver sustainable, profitable growth."

Several other health insurers have been bringing in new executives or replacing CEOs in the last two years. Just last week, Elevance Health made several changes to its management ranks at both the health insurance business and its Carelon health services that includes new chief finance officers at each unit.

In February, Centene reported a loss of more than $1 billion in the fourth quarter of last year as the company continued to struggle with rising healthcare costs in the government-subsidized health plans it administers and sells. Centene is seeing rising costs among health plan members in all three government-subsidized benefits it helps manage: Medicaid, Medicare Advantage for older adults and Obamacare.

In addition, Centene said the company’s Obamacare enrollment is down more than 1.5 million from just a few months ago in what many analysts see as a sign Americans can no longer pay for health insurance and are dropping coverage.

London told analysts and investors that the company, which is historically the largest publicly traded provider of Obamacare, was on track for "roughly 3.5 million members by the end of the quarter with still some movement as we work through the grace period in March.”

That’s down from more than 5 million enrollees in Centene’s Ambetter brand plans who purchased coverage on the ACA’s marketplaces for last year. The big dip in Centene’s enrollment is what Democrats in Congress and health insurance industry analysts said would happen after Republicans in Congress and the Donald Trump White House wouldn’t agree to extend enhanced tax credits for buyers of Obamacare.

A KFF analysis last fall said middle income Americans “as well as those with low incomes” will see “major out-of-pocket premium increases" if tax credits aren’t extended. And they are with customers reporting a doubling and even tripling of premiums for this year.

The subsidies, or tax credits, made health insurance premiums more affordable for individuals and were enhanced by the Biden administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress, which passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, allowing more Americans to buy coverage. The enhanced subsidies helped enrollment in the ACA’s individual coverage, also known as Obamacare, eclipse a record 24 million Americans and help its popularity hit all-time highs.

The Trump administration, via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said in late January that 23 million consumers “have signed up for 2026 individual market health insurance coverage through the Marketplaces since the start of the 2026 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period on November 1, 2025.”