TAMPA, Fla., June 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Staywell Health
Plan, a WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) company, announced
today it has received a Notice of Intent to Award a contract from
the Florida Department of Health to provide managed care services
for the Children's Medical Services Managed Care Plan (CMS
Plan).
Under the proposed five-year contract award expected to begin on
Jan. 1, 2019, Staywell will be the
sole contractor for the CMS Plan.
The CMS Plan covers more than 60,000 medically complex children
under the age of 21 who are either in the traditional Medicaid
program or in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). This
is the first year the CMS Plan will be managed by a Medicaid managed care
company.
"We look forward to partnering with the Florida Department of
Health to help serve our state's most vulnerable children," said
Elizabeth Miller, state president,
WellCare of Florida. "We have been
serving Florida's Medicaid members
for more than 20 years. This latest award, and our selection
in April to expand our Medicaid
services in the state, is recognition of our proven track record
and ability to help our members in Florida live better, healthier lives."
On April 24, 2018, WellCare
received a Notice of Agency Decision from the Florida Agency for
Health Care Administration (AHCA) that it intends to award Staywell
a new five-year contract to provide managed care services to
Medicaid-eligible beneficiaries in the state of Florida.
Staywell was selected to serve Comprehensive Plan members in 10
of 11 regions (all counties except Broward), representing an increase of two
regions. Under the Comprehensive Plan, Staywell will continue to
provide Managed Medical Assistance (MMA) services and add Long-Term
Care (LTC) services for Medicaid beneficiaries ages 18 and older in
need of nursing facility-level care. Staywell was also selected to
serve Specialty Plan members with a diagnosis of Serious Mental
Illness (SMI) across all 11 regions.
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. The company served approximately 4.3 million members
nationwide as of March 31, 2018. For
more information about WellCare, please visit the company's website
at www.wellcare.com.
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,"
"will," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates,"
and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. For
example, statements regarding the date for commencement of services
under the new 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 outcome of any protests and litigation
related to the Medicaid awards, the approval of the contract by the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, any changes to the
program or contract or timing, WellCare's ability to address
operational challenges relating to the implementation of the
contract requirements, including, but not limited to, meeting the
requirements of readiness reviews, 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 meet
the requirements of readiness reviews, potential reductions in
Medicaid 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, and
its ability to negotiate actuarially sound rates, especially in new
programs with limited experience. 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 Company's filings with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), 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, 2017, the Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 and other filings by WellCare with
the SEC, 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
undertakes no duty to update these forward-looking statements to
reflect any future events, developments, or otherwise.
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SOURCE WellCare Health Plans, Inc.