specification: API Commons Rate Limits
specificationVersion: '0.1'
schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/interface-research/main/schema/api-commons.yml#/$defs/RateLimits
provider: Centene
providerId: centene
generated: '2026-09-07'
method: probed
source: https://iopc-pd.api.centene.com/iopc/pd/fhir/providerdirectory/Practitioner?family=SMITH
created: '2026-05-04'
modified: '2026-09-07'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - Healthcare
  - FHIR
  - CMS Interoperability
  - Rate Limiting
limit_count: 0
description: >-
  Centene publishes no numeric rate limit for any of its twenty public APIs. This replaces a
  2026-05-04 bulk-generated placeholder that recorded three limits of "see partner portal
  documentation" - which is not a limit. The honest measurement is zero published limits, plus
  the runtime signals that do exist.
note: >-
  Verified two ways. (1) All twelve first-party OpenAPI documents were scanned: 62 operations
  declare a 429 response, so throttling is real, but no operation declares a RateLimit-*,
  X-RateLimit-* or Retry-After response header, and no spec states a numeric limit. (2) A live
  anonymous request to the production FHIR Provider Directory returned HTTP 200 with only
  x-request-id as a Centene-specific header - no rate-limit headers on the wire. An agent
  therefore has no way to see how much budget it has left until it receives a 429, and no
  Retry-After to tell it when to come back.
observed_response_headers:
  - name: x-request-id
    purpose: Per-request correlation id. Undocumented by Centene.
probe:
  url: https://iopc-pd.api.centene.com/iopc/pd/fhir/providerdirectory/Practitioner?family=SMITH
  status: 200
  rate_limit_headers_present: false
responseCodes:
  throttled: 429
  serviceUnavailable: 503
  gatewayTimeout: 504
declared_in_spec:
  '429': 62
  '503': 62
  '504': 146
  source: openapi/ (185 operations across 12 documents)
limits: []
policies:
  - name: Pagination cap
    description: >-
      The only hard published throughput number in the entire estate. Centene's Provider Directory
      guide states the API paginates at 200 records per page and a client must follow the FHIR
      Bundle next link to retrieve more. Confirmed live - a searchset Bundle returned total 200
      with a next link.
    value: 200
    unit: records per page
    source: https://partners.centene.com/apiDetail/8122bc9c-43d6-4a2a-b6be-2272df8b8566
  - name: Access token lifetime
    description: >-
      Access tokens expire in 3600 seconds; a refresh_token is issued so an application can
      continue syncing without re-running member consent.
    value: 3600
    unit: seconds
    source: https://partners.centene.com/apiDetail/2718669d-6e2e-42b5-8c90-0a82f13a30ba
  - name: Authorization code single use
    description: Centene states the authorization code is valid for a single use.
    source: https://partners.centene.com/apiDetail/2718669d-6e2e-42b5-8c90-0a82f13a30ba
  - name: Backoff
    description: >-
      No Retry-After is published or observed, so exponential backoff with jitter is the only
      available strategy on 429 / 503 / 504.
  - name: Member access protection
    description: >-
      Under the CMS Interoperability and Patient Access Rule, throttling must not obstruct a
      member's right to access their own clinical and financial data. Sustained 429s on Patient
      Access are a compliance question, not just an engineering one; raise them through
      IOP_External_Onboarding@Centene.com.
sources:
  - https://iopc-pd.api.centene.com/iopc/pd/fhir/providerdirectory/Practitioner?family=SMITH
  - https://partners.centene.com/apiDetail/8122bc9c-43d6-4a2a-b6be-2272df8b8566
  - https://partners.centene.com/apiDetail/2718669d-6e2e-42b5-8c90-0a82f13a30ba
  - https://external-api.my.centene.com/partner-portal/apis
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com