CNC Deepens Medicaid Strategy With Cityblock Partnership in Illinois

Centene Corporation CNC continues to sharpen its Medicaid-focused growth strategy with a new partnership between its Illinois subsidiary, Meridian Health Plan of Illinois, and Cityblock Health. The collaboration aims to serve 10,000 Medicaid members across 17 counties in the greater Springfield and St. Louis Metro East areas, covering both urban and rural communities.

Under this new arrangement, Cityblock will complement Meridian’s existing provider network by offering a comprehensive 24/7 wrap-around care model. This model features extended access to primary and urgent care, along with support for behavioral health, social care coordination, clinical pharmacy and overall care management. It is specifically tailored for Medicaid populations who often deal with complex medical, behavioral and social issues that traditional care systems find challenging to manage effectively.

This marks the fourth time Centene and Cityblock have teamed up regionally, following their existing collaborations in New York, Ohio and Florida. The expansion into Illinois reflects CNC’s commitment to value-based care models that focus on achieving better outcomes and cost efficiency rather than just increasing volume. For CNC, this approach may reduce execution risk while still allowing innovation in care delivery.

This partnership aligns well with CNC’s core competency in government-sponsored healthcare. By bringing in Cityblock’s innovative, community-focused care model, Centene could boost member engagement, cut down on unnecessary hospital visits and reduce overall care costs — key factors for maintaining healthy margins in Medicaid contracts.

For CNC, partnerships like this could reinforce its positioning as a top Medicaid operator that adapts to evolving care models, which could enhance its competitive edge with state regulators and during contract renewals in the long run.

CNC’s Price Performance

Over the past six months, CNC shares have gained 38.3% compared with the industry’s growth of 10.7%.

CNC’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

CNC currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some top-ranked stocks in the Medical space are Exact Sciences Corporation EXAS, Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. RIGL and CorMedix Inc. CRMD, each currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Exact Sciences’ current-year earnings of 27 cents per share has remained stable in the past 30 days. Exact Sciences beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 352.3%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $3.2 billion, suggesting 17.1% year-over-year growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Rigel Pharmaceuticals’ current-year earnings of $6.54 per share has witnessed one upward revision in the past 60 days, against no movement in the opposite direction. Rigel Pharmaceuticals beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 129.7%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $290.8 million, suggesting 62.2% year-over-year growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CorMedix’s current-year earnings of $2.87 per share has witnessed three upward revisions in the past 60 days, against no movement in the opposite direction. CorMedix beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 27%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $309.8 million, suggesting 612.7% year-over-year growth.

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