Centene CEO Says AI Should Lower Health Care Delivery Costs

Centene CEO Sarah London said artificial intelligence’s greatest health care opportunity may be reducing the cost of delivering care, rather than simply automating billing and administrative work.

Speaking Monday at a summit in Santa Barbara, London described many large-scale AI applications as “inflationary use cases” that can increase revenue in fee-for-service health care without lowering the underlying cost of care.

She pointed to community health workers using AI to triage non-acute problems locally, particularly in rural areas. London also cited interactive tools that could help patients make initial decisions about their care.

“That’s actually how you bend the cost curve,” London said.

London said savings from administrative automation could be redirected toward member benefits. “Every dollar that we can save in the administration of health care, we can apply to benefits,” she said.

London said Centene serves people who are “among the poorest, sickest” in their communities. The company had 27.6 million members and $194.8 billion in revenue in 2025. Medicaid accounted for 57% of its external revenue, making it Centene’s largest business segment.

Data, technology and AI are strategic capabilities intended to improve health experiences and outcomes for underserved populations. Centene has not disclosed quantified savings, patient outcomes or an implementation timetable for the community-triage and patient-navigation concepts described by London.