Georgetown CCF: Big Five MCOs Lost Medicaid Enrollees in Q3
Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families reports that Medicaid enrollment fell at all five major publicly-traded managed care companies, Centene, CVS Health/Aetna, Elevance Health, Molina Healthcare, and UnitedHealth Group, in the quarter ending September 30, 2026. Combined Medicaid enrollment across the five companies dropped 7.4 percent, from 36.2 million on June 30, 2025 to 33.5 million, while overall national Medicaid enrollment fell 6.7 percent over a similar period. Company-level losses ranged from 2.6 percent at CVS Health/Aetna to 10.6 percent at UnitedHealth Group, and four of the five companies reported a combined $70.92 billion in Medicaid revenue for the quarter. The piece notes these declines occurred before a federal court's October 29 injunction against part of CMS's work-requirement rule in 26 expansion states, and before work reporting requirements and six-month redeterminations are set to begin January 1, 2027; it also quotes Molina executives discussing state efforts to build acuity-shift adjustments into 2027 capitation rates.