RALEIGH, N.C. and TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 13,
2017 /PRNewswire/ -- WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:
WCG), Community Care of North
Carolina, Inc. (CCNC) and Community Care Physicians Network,
LLC (CCPN) have agreed to collaborate on the delivery of
high-quality healthcare to North
Carolina's Medicaid beneficiaries in connection with
North Carolina's new Medicaid
program that is expected to be implemented in 2019.
CCNC subsidiary North Carolina Community Care Networks manages
healthcare services for approximately 1.7 million North Carolina
Medicaid enrollees through regional healthcare networks serving all
100 counties in the state. CCNC has established relationships with
every hospital in the state, thousands of private practice
physicians (including those in the CCPN network), every county
health department, the state's 34 federally qualified health
centers and 27 rural health centers. Regional CCNC program networks
also employ roughly 600 care managers who work closely with North
Carolina Medicaid beneficiaries and providers to ensure complex
medical needs are appropriately managed.
WellCare is a leading provider of managed care services for
government-sponsored healthcare programs including serving more
than 2.7 million Medicaid beneficiaries across 11 states. WellCare
and CCNC intend to coordinate care through joint development and
management of population health programs, predictive analytics
solutions and care management models for North Carolina Medicaid
enrollees with a particular focus on those with complex health
problems. WellCare and CCNC intend to leverage CCPN's robust
network of primary care physicians to deliver clinical services to
WellCare's members. Additionally, CCPN intends to provide
infrastructure, provider relationships and support processes, while
WellCare brings managed care operational best practices, innovative
payment models and comprehensive clinical supports.
"We're excited by WellCare's vision and commitment to health
system transformation and look forward to partnering with them to
continue our mission to improve care for North Carolinians," said
L. Allen Dobson, Jr., M.D., CCNC
president and CEO. "CCNC is ready to partner with health plans
such as WellCare that are committed
to improving healthcare quality and access to care and building on
our strong provider infrastructure in North Carolina."
"For years, CCNC has provided high-quality healthcare to North
Carolinians. Together, we will build on this strong foundation to
improve health outcomes while controlling costs," said Gregg MacDonald, senior vice president, division
president at WellCare. "Our combined expertise offers Medicaid
managed care services and clinical excellence, and importantly, an
unwavering dedication to delivering the best possible healthcare to
the state's most vulnerable populations."
Unique to this arrangement, WellCare brings its community
advocacy program, which identifies local, community-based solutions
to address unmet social support needs. WellCare, in
conjunction with CCNC, intends to establish a community advocacy
program tailored to North Carolina Medicaid beneficiaries to
connect them to essential and needed social support services.
"We know that people cannot prioritize their health when their
basic social needs are not being met," said Pamme Taylor, WellCare's vice president for
advocacy and community-based programs. "By helping people address
these needs, we hope to help people lead better, healthier lives,
provide greater support for North
Carolina's social safety net, and reduce the overall cost of
healthcare."
About WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
Headquartered in
Tampa, Fla., WellCare Health
Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) focuses exclusively on providing
government-sponsored managed care services, primarily through
Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans,
to families, children, seniors and individuals with complex medical
needs. WellCare serves approximately 4.3 million members nationwide
as of Sept. 30, 2017. For more
information about WellCare, please visit the company's website at
www.wellcare.com or view the company's videos at
https://www.youtube.com/user/WellCareHealthPlan.
About Community Care of North
Carolina
CCNC is a national leader in transforming
health care. The CCNC Program joins community-based care managers
with local primary care physicians and diverse teams of health
professionals to develop whole-person plans of care. Informed by
statewide data and predictive analytics, The CCNC Program builds
patient centered practice models, connects people to the right
local resources and leads collaborations with health systems and
public health. This proven population health management approach
delivers better health outcomes at lower costs. For more
information, visit https://www.communitycarenc.org/.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking"
statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements
that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future
events or conditions, or that include words such as "expects,"
"anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates,"
"will," and similar expressions are forward-looking
statements. For example, statements regarding the WellCare's and
CCNC's collaboration, participation and selection in North Carolina's new Medicaid program,
including the anticipated start date of the program contain
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause WellCare's
actual future results to differ materially from those projected or
contemplated in the forward-looking statements. These risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the ability of the
parties to execute a definitive agreement or agreements regarding
the services to be provided in support of the new North Carolina
Medicaid program, and such agreements' ultimate terms, the
selection of WellCare to participate in the new North Carolina
Medicaid program, and the outcome of any related protests or
disputes, the approval by the Centers of Medicaid and Medicare
Services of the terms of a contract for the new North Carolina
Medicaid program, any changes to the program or contract, including
its anticipated implementation date, WellCare's progress on top
priorities such as integrating care management, advocating for our
members, building advanced relationships with providers and
government partners, ensuring a competitive cost position, and
delivering prudent, profitable growth, WellCare's ability to
effectively estimate and manage growth, WellCare's ability to
effectively execute and integrate acquisitions, potential
reductions in Medicaid and Medicare revenue, WellCare's ability to
estimate and manage medical benefits expense effectively, including
through its vendors, WellCare's ability to improve healthcare
quality and access, WellCare's ability to negotiate actuarially
sound rates, especially in new programs with limited experience,
the appropriation and payment by state governments of Medicaid
premiums receivable, the parties ability to address operational
challenges related to new business, and the parties ability to meet
the requirements of readiness reviews. Given the risks and
uncertainties inherent in forward-looking statements, any of
WellCare's forward-looking statements could be incorrect and
investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of our
forward-looking statements.
Additional information concerning these and other important
risks and uncertainties can be found in the WellCare's filings with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, included under the
captions "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the
company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2016, and in the
company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
September 30, 2017, which contain
discussions of WellCare's business and the various factors that may
affect it. Subsequent events and developments may cause actual
results to differ, perhaps materially, from WellCare's
forward-looking statements. WellCare's forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date on which the statements are made.
WellCare undertakes no duty, and expressly disclaims any obligation
to update these forward-looking statements to reflect any future
events, developments or otherwise.
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SOURCE WellCare Health Plans, Inc.