UPDATED: 12:30 p.m. ET on April 25
Centene CEO Sarah London weighed in on the state of key policy priorities for the company, namely potential cuts to Medicaid and the expiry of enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans.
London said that the team is not finding appetite on the Hill or in the White House for broad cuts to benefits in Medicaid, though there are conversations around policies targeting the expansion population, including instituting work requirements for those individuals.
This aligns with statements President Donald Trump made in a far-reaching interview with Time magazine, where he said he would veto a bill that cuts Medicaid. In the same interview, he did characterize current Republican-led priorities as examining waste, fraud and abuse in the program.
London said that the first priority for legislators returning from the current recess will be a reconciliation bill that keeps the government open, with a likely Memorial Day deadline. That tight turnaround makes it unlikely that they'll make broad swings in healthcare.
"We believe that large scale benefit cuts and significant policy changes will present challenges for the reconciliation process," London said.
In addition, she said that there is pressure coming from GOP and swing state voters to keep the enhanced premium subsidies in place. These subsidies reach individuals in rural areas, small business owners and other key constituencies in red and swing states.
Once the reconciliation process is completed, London said that lawmakers will shift to broader funding priorities that are set to expire in the third quarter, and this is a more likely avenue for significant healthcare policy change.
"We expect activity focused on driving the contours of reconciliation bill as the first order of business," she said.
Centene beat the Street on both profit and revenue in the first quarter of 2025, reporting $1.3 billion in earnings Friday morning.
That's up slightly from the $1.2 billion the company posted in the prior-year quarter, according to its earnings report. It also equals $2.63 in earnings per share, while investors had anticipated $2.36, according to Zacks Investment Research.
Centene also reported $46.6 billion in revenue for the quarter, which surpassed Wall Street's predictions, too, per Zacks. It also marks notable growth from the $40.4 billion the company brought in for the first quarter of 2024.
"Our first quarter results demonstrate the resiliency of Centene's platform and the progress we are making as an organization while navigating a dynamic policy landscape," Sarah London, Centene's CEO, said in a press release.
The medical loss ratio was 87.5%, which is on par with what industry peers have reported so far in the first quarter.
In the earnings report, the company highlighted some key wins inked in the first quarter, such as winning a contract in Nevada to continue serving its Medicaid managed care program. Centene also extended its Medicaid relationship in Illinois, according to the report.
Centene boasted 27.9 million members as of March 31, including just shy of 13 million individuals enrolled in Medicaid coverage and 5.6 million in Affordable Care Act marketplace plans. It also reported about 1 million people in its Medicare Advantage and supplement plans, as well as 7.9 million people enrolled in its Medicare prescription drug plans.
Thanks to the first-quarter results, Centene said it is boosting its revenue guidance for the year and now expects between $164 billion and $166 billion for 2025. The company attributed the $6 billion increase to its guidance range to outperformance in enrollment for both the marketplace and Medicare Advantage.
The company also reiterated its earnings guidance and anticipates at least $7.25 per share.
Editor's note: This article previously misstated the number of people enrolled in Centene's Medicare drug plans.