Outsourcing giant Serco secures £671m US contract

The US Department of Health and Human Services has appointed Serco for up to another five years when its current contract ends in June.

Serco helps verify insurance claimant eligibility for health insurance benefits through the Federal Health Insurance Exchanges.

It said revenues from the existing contract in the last 12 months came to £157m.

Rupert Soames, chief executive of Serco, said: “Over the past five years, we have assisted millions of Americans by adjudicating their health insurance applications, using a combination of skilled staff and process automation to drive down costs and protect programme integrity.

“We look forward to delivering additional innovation and continued transformation of the operations, as we further develop the automated processing platforms and staff expertise to provide even better value and efficiency to citizens.”

Shares in Serco lifted as much as 4 per cent after the announcement, before easing back to stand 1% higher.

Robin Speakman at Shore Capital said: “Given rolling uncertainties over US healthcare provision, this contract renewal provides some welcome certainty to our eyes for Serco.”