ST. LOUIS, Aug. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Centene Corporation
(NYSE: CNC) today announced that it is expanding its offerings
in the 2020 Health Insurance Marketplace, or
exchange. The company is expanding its footprint in ten
markets: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, North
Carolina, Ohio,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington.
Last year marked another year of Centene's successful operations
on the exchanges. At June 30, 2019,
we served approximately 1.9 million exchange members across 20
states. The key demographics of these members including age,
gender, financial assistance and metal tier are consistent
with Centene's experience over the past three years. Over
ninety percent are eligible for subsidies.
"Centene takes pride in being the country's largest provider of
health insurance marketplace plans," said Michael F. Neidorff, Chairman, President and CEO
for Centene. "The need for affordable, high-quality healthcare has
never been more urgent, and we will continue to demonstrate
disciplined execution, agility and capacity to successfully
navigate industry changes to the benefit of our members, customers
and shareholders."
Centene has started the process for seeking all
necessary regulatory approvals in targeted states for
2020.
About Centene Corporation
Centene Corporation, a Fortune 100 company, is a diversified,
multi-national healthcare enterprise that provides a portfolio of
services to government sponsored and commercial healthcare
programs, focusing on under-insured and uninsured individuals. Many
receive benefits provided under Medicaid, including the State
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), as well as Aged, Blind
or Disabled (ABD), Foster Care and
Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS), in addition to other
state-sponsored programs, Medicare (including the Medicare
prescription drug benefit commonly known as "Part D"), dual
eligible programs and programs with the U.S. Department of Defense.
Centene also provides healthcare services to groups and individuals
delivered through commercial health plans. Centene operates local
health plans and offers a range of health insurance solutions. It
also contracts with other healthcare and commercial organizations
to provide specialty services including behavioral health
management, care management software, correctional healthcare
services, dental benefits management, commercial programs,
home-based primary care services, life and health management,
vision benefits management, pharmacy benefits management, specialty
pharmacy and telehealth services.
Centene uses its investor relations website to publish important
information about the Company, including information that may be
deemed material to investors. Financial and other information about
Centene is routinely posted and is accessible on Centene's investor
relations website, http://www.centene.com/investors.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements, other than statements of current or
historical fact, contained in this press release are
forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing,
forward-looking statements often use words such as "believe,"
"anticipate," "plan," "expect," "estimate," "intend," "seek,"
"target," "goal," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "can,"
"continue" and other similar words or expressions (and the negative
thereof). Centene (the Company, our, or we) intends such
forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe-harbor
provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and we are including this
statement for purposes of complying with these safe-harbor
provisions. In particular, these statements include, without
limitation, statements about our future operating or financial
performance, market opportunity, growth strategy, competition,
expected activities in completed and future acquisitions, including
statements about the impact of our proposed acquisition (the
WellCare Transaction) of WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (WellCare),
our recent acquisition (the Fidelis Care Acquisition) of
substantially all the assets of New York
State Catholic Health Plan, Inc., d/b/a Fidelis Care New
York ( Fidelis Care), investments and the adequacy of our available
cash resources. These forward-looking statements reflect our
current views with respect to future events and are based on
numerous assumptions and assessments made by us in light of our
experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions,
business strategies, operating environments, future developments
and other factors we believe appropriate. By their nature,
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties and are subject to change because they relate to
events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future,
including economic, regulatory, competitive and other factors that
may cause our or our industry's actual results, levels of activity,
performance or achievements to be materially different from any
future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements. These statements are not guarantees of future
performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and
assumptions. All forward-looking statements included in this press
release are based on information available to us on the date
hereof. Except as may be otherwise required by law, we undertake no
obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements
included in this press release, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, after the date
hereof. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking
statements, as actual results may differ materially from
projections, estimates, or other forward-looking statements due to
a variety of important factors, variables and events including but
not limited to: the risk that regulatory or other approvals
required for the WellCare Transaction may be delayed or not
obtained or are obtained subject to conditions that are not
anticipated that could require the exertion of management's time
and our resources or otherwise have an adverse effect on us; the
possibility that certain conditions to the consummation of the
WellCare Transaction will not be satisfied or completed on a timely
basis and, accordingly, the WellCare Transaction may not be
consummated on a timely basis or at all; uncertainty as to the
expected financial performance of the combined company following
completion of the WellCare Transaction; the possibility that the
expected synergies and value creation from the WellCare Transaction
will not be realized, or will not be realized within the expected
time period; the exertion of management's time and the Company's
resources, and other expenses incurred and business changes
required, in connection with any regulatory, governmental or third
party consents or approvals for the WellCare Transaction; the risk
that unexpected costs will be incurred in connection with the
completion and/or integration of the WellCare Transaction or that
the integration of WellCare will be more difficult or time
consuming than expected; the risk that potential litigation in
connection with the WellCare Transaction may affect the timing or
occurrence of the WellCare Transaction, cause it not to close at
all, or result in significant costs of defense, indemnification and
liability; unexpected costs, charges or expenses resulting from the
WellCare Transaction; the possibility that competing offers will be
made to acquire WellCare; the inability to retain key personnel;
disruption from the announcement, pendency and/or completion of the
WellCare Transaction, including potential adverse reactions or
changes to business relationships with customers, employees,
suppliers or regulators, making it more difficult to maintain
business and operational relationships; the risk that, following
the WellCare Transaction, the combined company may not be able to
effectively manage its expanded operations; our ability to
accurately predict and effectively manage health benefits and other
operating expenses and reserves; competition; membership and
revenue declines or unexpected trends; changes in healthcare
practices, new technologies, and advances in medicine; increased
healthcare costs; changes in economic, political or market
conditions; changes in federal or state laws or regulations,
including changes with respect to income tax reform or government
healthcare programs as well as changes with respect to the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and
Education Affordability Reconciliation Act, collectively referred
to as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and any regulations enacted
thereunder that may result from changing political conditions or
judicial actions, including the ultimate outcome of the District
Court decision in "Texas v. United States
of America" regarding the constitutionality of the ACA; rate
cuts or other payment reductions or delays by governmental payors
and other risks and uncertainties affecting our government
businesses; our ability to adequately price products on federally
facilitated and state-based Health Insurance Marketplaces; tax
matters; disasters or major epidemics; the outcome of legal and
regulatory proceedings; changes in expected contract start dates;
provider, state, federal and other contract changes and timing of
regulatory approval of contracts; the expiration, suspension, or
termination of our contracts with federal or state governments
(including but not limited to Medicaid, Medicare, TRICARE or other
customers); the difficulty of predicting the timing or outcome of
pending or future litigation or government investigations;
challenges to our contract awards; cyber-attacks or other privacy
or data security incidents; the possibility that the expected
synergies and value creation from acquired businesses, including,
without limitation, the Fidelis Care Acquisition, will not be
realized, or will not be realized within the expected time
period; the exertion of management's time and our resources,
and other expenses incurred and business changes required in
connection with complying with the undertakings in connection with
any regulatory, governmental or third party consents or approvals
for acquisitions, including the Fidelis Care Acquisition;
disruption caused by significant completed and pending
acquisitions, including, among others, the Fidelis Care
Acquisition, making it more difficult to maintain business and
operational relationships; the risk that unexpected costs will be
incurred in connection with the completion and/or integration of
acquisition transactions, including among others, the Fidelis Care
Acquisition; changes in expected closing dates, estimated purchase
price and accretion for acquisitions; the risk that acquired
businesses, including Fidelis Care,
will not be integrated successfully; the risk that, following the
Fidelis Care Acquisition, we may not be able to effectively manage
our expanded operations; restrictions and limitations in connection
with our indebtedness; our ability to maintain the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Star ratings and maintain or
achieve improvement in other quality scores in each case that can
impact revenue and future growth; availability of debt and equity
financing, on terms that are favorable to us; inflation; foreign
currency fluctuations; and risks and uncertainties discussed in the
reports that Centene has filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. This list of important factors is not intended to be
exhaustive. We discuss certain of these matters more fully, as well
as certain other factors that may affect our business operations,
financial condition and results of operations, in our filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the
registration statement on Form S-4 filed by Centene with the SEC on
May 23, 2019, our annual report on
Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on
Form 8-K. Due to these important factors and risks, we cannot give
assurances with respect to our future performance, including
without limitation our ability to maintain adequate premium levels
or our ability to control our future medical and selling, general
and administrative costs.
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SOURCE Centene Corporation