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US: Centene to sell Illinois health plan unit to CVS to aid merger

 |  December 2, 2019

Health insurer Centene stated on Monday, December 2, it had entered an agreement to sell its Illinois unit to CVS Health, moving a step closer to closing its US$15.27 billion deal to buy smaller rival WellCare Health Plans.  

Centene expects to scale up its government-backed Medicare and Medicaid businesses with the WellCare deal, but in some states Medicaid divestitures may be required, such as Georgia and Illinois, reported Reuters. 

In September, following the US Department of Justice’s demand for additional information regarding the merger, WellCare agreed to sell its Missouri and Nebraska Medicaid plan units due to significant overlap in business in the states with Centene.

Full Content: Reuters

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