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St. Louis-based Centene Corp., the parent of Managed Health Services Insurance Corp., Wisconsin’s largest Medicaid HMO, has agreed to pay Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee $9.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed in 2003 over fees for outpatient surgery.

Centene pays $9.5 million for outpatient surgery fees

November 1, 2005

Centene pays $9.5 million for outpatient surgery fees

St. Louis-based Centene Corp., the parent of Managed Health Services Insurance Corp., Wisconsin’s largest Medicaid HMO, has agreed to pay Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee $9.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed in 2003 over fees for outpatient surgery.1

"They were reimbursing us at level below what we had agreed to," says Jeff Sprier, director of communications for Aurora Health Care. Centene representatives were interpreting the contract differently than Aurora officials were, according to Sprier.

Centene and Aurora also agreed to a new five-year contract that begins Jan. 1.

Centene had net income of $44.3 million on revenue of $1 billion in 2004, according to published reports.1 In the past five years, the company’s net income and revenue have more than quadrupled.1 It operates health plans in Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin. In April, Tommy G. Thompson, former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and former Wisconsin governor, was elected to Centene’s board of directors.

Reference

  1. Boulton G. HMO parent to pay $9.5 million to settle dispute with Aurora — Companies also agree to new 5-year contract. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Sept. 13, 2005. Accessed at www.jsonline.com/bym/news/sep05/355256.asp.