ST. LOUIS, April 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) today announced that Centurion of Mississippi, LLC ("Centurion"), a joint venture between Centene Corporation and MHM Services, Inc., has been recommended for award of correctional healthcare services by the Mississippi Department of Corrections. This award is pending approval by Mississippi's Personal Service Contract Review Board. Centurion will provide medical and behavioral health services to over 17,000 offenders housed at facilities throughout the state. 

"We look forward to the opportunity to work with the Mississippi Department of Corrections and appreciate the recognition that Centurion's innovative managed care approaches make a difference in caring for this population," said Steven H. Wheeler, CEO of Centurion. "We are pleased to expand Centene's partnership with the state of Mississippi. We view this as another opportunity to enhance the communities we serve by maintaining a focus on the individual."

Centurion currently operates four additional statewide contracts to provide correctional healthcare services in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Tennessee and Vermont. The Mississippi award is expected to start in the third quarter of 2015.

About Centene Corporation
Centene Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that provides a portfolio of services to government-sponsored healthcare programs, focusing on under-insured and uninsured individuals. Many receive benefits provided under Medicaid, including the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), as well as Aged, Blind or Disabled (ABD), Foster Care and Long Term Care (LTC), in addition to other state-sponsored/hybrid programs and Medicare (Special Needs Plans). The Company operates local health plans and offers a range of health insurance solutions. It also contracts with other healthcare and commercial organizations to provide specialty services including behavioral health management, care management software, correctional healthcare services, dental benefits management, in-home health services, life and health management, managed vision, pharmacy benefits management, specialty pharmacy and telehealth services.

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SOURCE Centene Corporation