Healthcare giant Centene’s plans to reduce its workforce with voluntary employee buyouts could impact a Florida subsidiary that oversees the health of more than two million in the state.
Sunshine Health, among the largest healthcare plans in Florida, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene which is offering voluntary separation packages to its workforce.
Centene acknowledged the buyouts in a statement after Bloomberg News first reported the company’s plan June 15.
Centene has 61,000 employees across the U.S., which includes its subsidiaries, and the buyout offer is designed for most employees to be eligible to apply for, according to the statement.
Centene launched Sunshine Health in 2007 and today it oversees a variety of managed care plans for two million Floridians, including Medicaid managed care coverage for the needy.
Sunshine has 3,000 employees across 13 offices in Florida, including in Southwest Florida, according to a 2024 report.
Sunshine officials declined to comment if any of its workforce will be offered the voluntary buyouts.
A Tallahassee public relations firm for Sunshine issued the Centene statement that was offered across news outlets:
“Centene is positioning the company to lead the future of healthcare – working to deliver a simpler and better experience for our members and partners while meeting the realities of today’s healthcare environment. Today we announced a voluntary separation program to support employees who may be considering a transition.”
The company did not say if there is a number of voluntary buyouts it is aiming for or if layoffs is a possible next step.
The Centene statement said the company will not be sharing any more information on the workforce reduction.
What’s to blame?
The move reflects a growing development among health care companies, whether in direct patient care services or insurance, that have been taking hits after changes to the Affordable Care Act took effect Jan. 1.
Congress last year declined to renew what was known as “enhanced” premium assistance that began during the COVID-19 pandemic to people enrolled in ACA plans to help as a bridge during job losses.
By not renewing the enhanced premium assistance, premiums started to spike this year and enrollment declined as some enrollees could no longer stay insured or had to switch to higher out-of-pocket plans.
The result is fewer patients getting regular medical care and a ripple effect of job losses for health care workers.
The Commonwealth Fund published a report last year that 154,000 jobs would be lost in 2026 alone in health care and ultimately reach 339,000.
Of those, roughly 57,000 job losses would be in Florida, according to Commonwealth.
KFF, an independent U.S. health policy group, says the average benchmark ACA premium in Florida this year is $683 a month.
What does this mean to Centene?
Centene’s membership in ACA plans dropped to 3.6 million this year, a decline of 2 million from 5.6 million reported in the first quarter of 2025, according to Becker’s Healthcare, an industry media company.
In Florida, Sunshine Health is based in Broward County. It is among the largest healthcare plans in Florida for 2.5 million in the state.
It offers government-sponsored managed care through Medicaid, long-term care, Medicare and the state’s ACA market.
It also runs specialty plans serving children in the child welfare program and through Children’s Medical Services.
In 2025, Sunshine Health provided $3.5 million in grants to more than 700 community agencies in the state to help with housing stability, food security, youth mental health, maternal health, and workforce development, according to its community investment report released in August 2025.
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Liz Freeman is a health care reporter. Reach her by emailing lfreeman@naplesnews.com Please support local community journalism and stay informed about Southwest Florida news by subscribing to The News-Press and Naples Daily News; download the free News-Press or Naples Daily News app, and sign up for daily briefing email newsletter, food & dining and growth & development newsletters here and here
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Job cuts possible at behemoth Florida health plan. Here’s why.
Reporting by Liz Freeman, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
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By Liz Freeman, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
