Centene delivered "unacceptable" performance for its Medicaid managed care contract for Illinois foster youth, an investigation from the Illinois Answers Project published in the Chicago Sun-Times found.
Documents obtained by the outlet show just 22 percent of children received a health screening within 60 days of enrolling in YouthCare, the state's healthcare program for children in foster care, which Centene was contracted to manage. Illinois' Healthcare and Family Services Department sets this benchmark at 70 percent.
"The performance of YouthCare during this period of time was unacceptable," a spokesperson for the department told the Illinois Answers Project.
The department has halted automatic enrollments for new Medicaid recipients in Meridian Health Plan of Illinois, the Centene subsidiary that manages the state's Medicaid contracts.
Foster parents interviewed by the outlet said they had to pay out of pocket for services YouthCare should have covered and faced long waits for inadequate care.
A spokesperson for Centene told the outlet: "We have progressively improved our metrics. … We are committed to increasing access to care for our members."
Read the full investigationhere.