A former vice president at Centene filed an age discrimination lawsuit against the company July 21.
Kay Timmerman filed the complaint in the St. Louis County Circuit Court. The filing said Ms. Timmerman was 59 years old.
In August 2025, Centene restructured some vice president roles. The document said Ms. Timmerman landed a vice president I position instead of a vice president II role, even though two Centene leaders said vice president II would have been more fitting for her. Ms. Timmerman had worked at Centene for nearly 11 years, beginning in 2015. The filing characterized her as the payment integrity business unit’s “most senior vice president” and “clearly the strongest internal candidate to lead the department.”
The complaint said a supervisor in her early 40s excluded Ms. Timmerman from organizational meetings with her direct report leaders, as well.
Later that year, Ms. Timmerman inadvertently got access to peers’ Workday records but reported it the following day, according to the complaint. However, she was ultimately terminated Oct. 7, 2025, due to an alleged code of conduct violation and lack of candor in the investigation regarding the matter. On Oct. 9, the supervisor informed colleagues that an external candidate, roughly in her 40s, would take over a role with the same title as Ms. Timmerman’s, starting Oct. 13.
The lawsuit also cited two other Centene leaders, one who was about 55 years old and another who was 64, who faced similar challenges.
The lawsuit follows Ms. Timmerman filing a discrimination charge with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission around late November. She got a right-to-sue notice in June.
Ms. Timmerman is also suing over breach of contract. Since Centene defined her departure as “for cause,” Ms. Timmerman did not receive severance.
The plaintiff requested a jury trial and sought awards covering past and future lost income and emotional distress damages, among other forms of compensation.
Becker’s contacted Centene and will update this story if more information becomes available.
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