Centene Corp.’s planned acquisition of fellow dual eligibles demonstration player Health Net, Inc. represents a move into the California duals market for the Medicaid specialist and would increase its enrollment in dual-eligible demos to more than 50,000 lives, according to the June 2015 DUAL enrollment update.

Centene early on July 2 said its own board and that of Health Net, Inc. have agreed to a deal in which Centene will purchase Health Net in a cash and stock transaction valued at around $6.8 billion.

As of June 2015, Centene’s participation in CMS duals demos in Illinois, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas has netted 20,451 dual-eligible lives, while Health Net has enrolled 29,346 in the California duals demo.

Centene’s enrollment in CMS Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) also stands to pick up. Currently, the insurer has 4,015 D-SNP lives in Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin, while Health Net’s D-SNP enrollment in California is 22,426. Both insurers have more than 1,300 lives each in Arizona’s D-SNP program.

The companies said they believe that the addition of Health Net's Medicare platform to Centene's Medicaid programs will be a catalyst for future growth. "This transaction ensures that we extend our competitive position as one of the largest plans covering government-sponsored programs in the country. Health Net's presence in California and other key western states is complementary to our offerings, allowing us to bring additional innovative solutions to the healthcare market," Michael Neidorff, Centene's CEO, said in a statement.

Read the Centene press release.

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