Centene Corporation announced two appointments. Michael A. Carson joins Centene as President and Chief Executive Officer of its Medicare business, Wellcare. Mr. Carson will be responsible for Medicare business performance, strategy and growth and will report to Centene President Ken Fasola.

Carson succeeds Richard Fisher, who has been appointed to the Operations leadership team under Centene Chief Operating Officer Susan Smith. Mr. Fisher will have responsibility for key financial and operational processes across Shared Services, as well as lead enterprise development, management and optimization of Centene's key vendor partnerships. Mr. Carson brings nearly three decades of seasoned leadership, operational and industry expertise in both the payer and provider space with a deep focus on and expertise in serving Medicare and dual-eligible populations.

As the CEO of value-based primary and multi-specialty care start-up CareAbout, he led a fully delegated, risk-bearing Medicare and dual-eligible-focused care delivery organization. Mr. Carson also served as the CEO of Bright Health Plan and as the President and CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. He led the formation and rebuilding of Medicare businesses at both Amerigroup and Anthem, as well as served in transformative leadership roles at ConcertoHealth and other Blue Cross Blue Shield plans.

Mr. Carson started his career in the United States Air Force, where he served for almost a decade before transitioning to corporate roles. Mr. Carson earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. He serves as Non-Executive Board Chair of HYKE, and as an Advisory Board Member of both Foodsmart and OneHealth.