Centene to acquire Columbia-based Carolina Crescent Health Plan

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) today announced that its South Carolina subsidiary, Absolute Total Care, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Columbia-based Carolina Crescent Health Plan (CCHP), the state's largest non-profit Medicaid managed care organization, from University Health Services, Inc. (UHS). CCHP serves more than 40,000 Medicaid members in 46 counties across the state.

Consistent with Centene's stated goal of growing its South Carolina plan to cover between 10-15 percent of the eligible Medicaid population, Absolute Total Care expects to provide managed care services for approximately 90,000 Medicaid members after the acquisition, or approximately 13 percent of the state's eligible Medicaid population. The transaction is contingent on receiving approval from state regulators and is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

The addition of the CCHP membership to Absolute Total Care will enable the company to leverage its care management capabilities across nearly twice as many members, with the potential to significantly improve health outcomes and reduce costs for the state's Medicaid members. Absolute Total Care will work closely with CCHP to ensure a seamless transition for members, providers and other stakeholders.

"The expansion of our South Carolina operations is consistent with our strategy to effectively and prudently deploy capital to grow our business," said Centene Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael F. Neidorff. "Like all accretive acquisitions, this transaction will allow us to leverage our business platform and systems across a broader member base, enabling us to provide better service at lower cost to our customers. Our ongoing leadership in providing managed care by working locally with the state, the health care providers and our members serves to improve health outcomes in a cost effective manner."

The acquisition of CCHP is expected to add revenues in the range of $55-65 million for 2010 and $115-130 million on an annual basis. Including transaction costs, the company expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings by approximately $0.02-0.03 per share in 2010, and accretive by approximately $0.09-0.11 per share on an annual basis.