Workforce

Payers are continuing to trim their workforces amid financial pressures, growing medical and pharmacy utilization, Medicaid funding cuts and strategic restructuring. Below are workforce reduction efforts or job eliminations that were announced or take effect in 2026. Insurance industry layoffs…

UCare is laying off 102 employees as the nonprofit insurer continues to wind down operations. The company filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice Aug. 3 in Minnesota. UCare’s support for Medicaid contracts ends Oct. 1, prompting the…

Centene offered buyouts to most employees in June. Now, the financials are catching up. In a July 28 report, the company projected severance costs between roughly $315 million and $365 million, mostly driven by the voluntary separation program, for the…

Open enrollment magnifies workforce decisions. Every delayed hire, every vacant seat, and every compressed onboarding timeline becomes more visible as call volumes increase and members need timely, accurate support. By the time open enrollment arrives, workforce planning has either become…

Elevance Health is laying off 85 employees in Washington, D.C. as part of its move to exit the district’s Medicaid managed care program. The company said the layoffs will take place between Oct. 2 and July 31, 2027 in regulatory…

Payers often work with employers, but they have to keep their own staff happy, too.  Amid a climate of payers across the country cutting jobs, Centene recently confirmed it is offering buyouts to most employees as its ACA business contracts.…

Centene is offering a voluntary separation program to employees, the company confirmed to Becker’s June 15. “Centene is positioning the company to lead the future of healthcare — working to deliver a simpler and better experience for our members and…

Elevance Health is suing a former senior executive, alleging he violated a noncompete agreement when he joined Medicare Advantage insurer Alignment Healthcare weeks after resigning. The complaint was filed June 5 in an Indiana federal court and names Shane Hochradel,…

Optum is laying off 98 people in Moline, Ill., as it closes a mail-order pharmacy facility, according to regulatory documents filed June 5. The notice names Optum Services as the employer and lists the cuts under a plant closure at…

Optum is laying off 92 employees in California, with the majority of cuts tied to the closure of a management services organization in Oxnard. The Oxnard MSO accounts for 80 of the 92 affected positions, the company said in regulatory…