Jeff Roberson / AP
Centene will sell Affordable Care Act health plans in 40 Missouri counties, including those that would not have had any options after Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City announced earlier this year it was heading for the hills. Centene, which predominantly handles Medicaid, has had a profitable run in the ACA exchanges and is expanding while others flee.
Why it matters: The Kaiser Family Foundation updated its ACA tracker, finding that Centene's move reduced the number of bare ACA counties to 36. The remaining bare counties are in Indiana, Nevada and Ohio, where Anthem has retreated.