North Carolina Democrat Senate candidate Roy Cooper benefited substantially from healthcare companies while serving eight years as the state’s governor. Records show state-awarded contracts went to companies who made donations to entities connected to Cooper while he also owned stocks in investment funds featuring those same companies.
The state of North Carolina transitioned from a fee-for-service model to managed care for its Medicaid program in legislation passed in 2015. Under the fee-for-service model, the state’s health department reimbursed physicians and healthcare providers based on the number of services they provided. The managed care model gives contracts directly to health insurance companies.
Cooper was elected governor in 2016, meaning his administration would select the winners of the contracts when the transition took effect.
One company, United Healthcare, received one of the coveted contracts from Cooper’s administration in 2019 as he took in $142,184 in contributions.
Cooper prodded the state legislature for years to expand Medicaid in the state, which finally occurred in 2023 and extended coverage to over 600,000 North Carolinians. Medicaid expansion succeeded in growing the enrollment base flowing through that same United Healthcare contract, boosting Cooper’s stock portfolio.
His relationship with healthcare giant Centene links millions in donations directly to his time as governor.
Centene’s North Carolina-based subsidiary also won regional Medicaid contracts from Cooper’s administration in 2019, and the company later acquired WellCare, which held one of the four statewide contracts awarded in that same round.
Cooper chaired the Democratic Governor’s Association (DGA) in 2021-22 when Centene gave $1.45 million to the group — also timed with his continued push to expand Medicaid in North Carolina.
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