Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2023	Sep. 30, 2022	Sep. 30, 2023	Sep. 30, 2022
Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Parent [Abstract]
Earnings attributable to Centene Corporation	$ 469	$ 738	$ 2,657	$ 1,415
Shares used in computing per share amounts:
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding (in shares)	539,535	573,961	546,374	580,277
Common stock equivalents (as determined by applying the treasury stock method) (in shares)	1,735	6,646	2,038	6,807
Weighted average number of common shares and potential dilutive common shares outstanding (in shares)	541,270	580,607	548,412	587,084
Net earnings per common share attributable to Centene Corporation:
Basic earnings per common share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.87	$ 1.29	$ 4.86	$ 2.44
Diluted earnings per common share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.87	$ 1.27	$ 4.85	$ 2.41
Anti-dilutive restricted stock and restricted stock units excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings (loss) per common share (in shares)	1,313	152	1,383	193