Centene To Sell U.K. Hospitals For $1.2B To Focus On Core Obamacare, Medicaid And Medicare Businesses

Health insurer Centene will sell a British hospital operator for $1.2 billion as the health insurer focuses on its core U.S. health benefits businesses: Obamacare, Medicaid and Medicare Advantage.

Centene Monday said it has signed a definitive agreement to sell Circle Health Group, one of the largest operators of hospitals in the U.K. to PureHealth, a large healthcare system in the Middle East. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024.

“This transaction marks another milestone in our portfolio review and showcases continued momentum against our value creation plan,” Centene Chief Executive Officer, Sarah London, said.

It’s the latest divestiture for Centene, which has already sold off some other European operations to focus more on the U.S. and earlier this year shed an artificial intelligence platform.

Meanwhile, Centene, which sells an array of government subsidized health insurance including Obamacare, and is facing more competition in these markets and is intensifying its focus on these businesses.

Circle Health operates more than 50 hospitals across the U.K. and was acquired by Centene in July 2021, two years after Centene first invested in the company in 2019 under then chief executive Michael Neidorff, who retired last year and was succeeded in March of 2022 by London.

“Circle Health is an innovative healthcare organization that has had a significant impact for the benefit of patients across the United Kingdom,” London said. “We are confident that this business will continue to thrive – providing access to high-quality care and delivering improved clinical outcomes under the ownership of Pure Health.”