Sunflower State Health Plan Chief Executive Jean Rumbaugh has taken a new job with the company’s parent firm, Centene, and will be replaced by Dr. Michael McKinney, who most recently worked for Centene as a senior vice president.
Sunflower is one of the three managed care companies that run the Kansas Medicaid program, which is known as KanCare. As of Jan. 3, according to state officials, it had the largest enrollment of the three with 118,215 enrollees. KanCare open enrollment currently is underway for about 330,000 of the state’s 400,000 Medicaid beneficiaries.
Sunflower State Health Plan: 118,215
Amerigroup: 104, 669
UnitedHealthcare: 101,924
McKinney has worked with St. Louis-based Centene in various capacities, according to company officials. He has been plan president for Magnolia Health Plan, a Centene subsidiary with a Medicaid contract in Mississippi. He also ran Centene health plans in Indiana and Texas.
Before joining Centene, he was chancellor of Texas A&M University, chief of staff for Texas Gov. Rick Perry and prior to that commissioner of health and human services under then Gov. George W. Bush.
“We are pleased to have Dr. McKinney join our Sunflower team. He has a vast background in healthcare leadership and will be an asset going forward in serving our members,” said Rone Baldwin, executive vice president of Centene’s insurance group.
Rumbaugh was Sunflower chief executive since the company launched in Kansas to pursue the KanCare contract. Centene officials said in her new job she will oversee the company’s “new implementations” nationally.
The job changes are effective immediately, according to company officials.
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