Centene Chairman, President, and CEO Michael Neidorff strongly believe there can be multiple reasons for vaccine hesitancy but all of them stem from one reason: lack of the right information and understanding of the issue.
- A dedicated man: CEO Neirdoff is a part of the corporation serving mankind for more than 25 years. During the pandemic, he emphasized utmost care for the members “most of who are from the vulnerable populations in the USA and who were disproportionately affected by COVID.”
- Utmost care for patients: “ My overwhelming feeling of this year and a half is one of pride that we really came together as a team as a company, to really serve them very, very well”, he said in the interview. CEO Neirdoff provided ample reasons for the citizens’ hesitancy for intaking vaccines, although all of them provided the same benefit. “ I think the fundamental background of all reasons is the lack of good information and a lack of understanding of the issues.”
- Improvement in vaccination rates: “ A lot of people look at the risk of a vaccine and they think about it in just isolation. But they don’t really weigh the fact that if you don’t get the vaccine there’s a significant risk too. And when you look at both of those things at the same time, it’s very clear what choice is that the vaccine is extremely safe in comparison to the risk of the disease. At first, the people of color were slightly hesitant to take vaccines. But with education, that hesitancy wore out and vaccination rates improved slightly”, he said.
- Overcoming challenges: According to the CEO of Centene, the most industrious challenge for vaccination is in rural communities. Neither they can avail the right information and the behavior of the people are more perplexed “ due to unexpected dimensions of politics being part of the people’s decision”. But the healthcare insurer is trying its best to provide them solid information about how safe these vaccines are.
- Expansion of healthcare: Neidorff has served as Centene’s CEO since 1996. Under his leadership, Centene has grown from 40,000 covered members to more than 23 million in 2020. Neidorff has expanded the company into all 50 states and three international markets through strategic acquisitions and organic growth. The longest-tenured CEO among the major managed care companies, Neidorff has successfully led the development and implementation of programs and services under Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial managed care while remaining committed to the core philosophy that quality healthcare is best delivered locally.
