Centene Settles Two Pharmacy Benefit Probes for $71 Million (2)

Centene Corp. has agreed to pay more than $71 million to resolve investigations in two states into the health insurer’s billing practices.

The settlements, announced on Thursday in statements from the attorneys general in Illinois and Arkansas, are related to claims that Centene’s pharmacy-benefit management business inflated drug costs. The company has resolved similar disputes with Ohio and Mississippi and has reserved $1.1 billion to cover the claims, it said in June.

Centene is the largest provider of Medicaid managed-care health plans in the U.S. It contracted with Illinois and Arkansas to manage pharmacy benefits for state programs.

“This ...