ST. LOUIS, Oct. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Centene
Corporation (NYSE: CNC) today announced that it is expanding
its 2019 Health Insurance Marketplace, or exchange,
offering under its national brand, Ambetter. The company is
planning to enter Pennsylvania,
North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee in 2019, and expanding its
footprint in six existing Ambetter markets:
Florida, Georgia, Indiana,
Kansas, Missouri, and Texas.
This past year marked another period of Centene's successful
operations on the exchanges with its Ambetter product. Centene
grew to 1.6 million exchange members, up from 960,000 at the end of
2017. The key demographics of these members including age, gender,
financial assistance, and metal tier are consistent
with Centene's experience over the past four years.
Ninety percent are eligible for subsidies.
"Centene's priority is to continue providing accessible,
high-quality healthcare services to our members," said Michael F. Neidorff, Chairman and CEO of
Centene. "We have successfully navigated a difficult enrollment
environment, gaining market share and exceeding our growth targets.
In 2019, we look forward to entering four new states and expanding
into new counties in six existing states with our Ambetter
product."
Centene is committed to continuing to work closely with
regulators and policymakers to collaborate on the actions that
stabilize the market and offer affordable and high-quality coverage
options. Centene expects to receive all necessary regulatory
approvals in targeted states for 2019.
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
and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 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
The company and its
representatives may from time to time make written and oral
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act ("PSLRA") of 1995, including
statements in this and other press releases, in presentations,
filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission ("SEC"), reports to stockholders and in meetings
with investors and analysts. In particular, the information
provided in this press release may contain certain forward-looking
statements with respect to the financial condition, results of
operations and business of Centene and certain plans and
objectives of Centene with respect thereto, including but
not limited to the expected benefits of the acquisition
of Health Net, Inc. (Health Net) (Health Net Acquisition)
and the acquisition of New York State Catholic Health Plan,
Inc., d/b/a Fidelis Care New York (Fidelis
Care) (Fidelis Care Acquisition). These forward-looking
statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate
only to historical or current facts. 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 and expressions
(and the negative thereof). We intend such forward-looking
statements to be covered by the safe-harbor provisions for
forward-looking statements contained in PSLRA. A number of factors,
variables or events could cause actual plans and results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking
statements. Such factors include, but are not limited
to, Centene's 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 and any regulations enacted thereunder that may
result from changing political conditions; rate cuts or other
payment reductions or delays by governmental payors and other risks
and uncertainties affecting Centene's government
businesses; Centene's 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 Centene's 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 Centene's 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 Health Net
Acquisition and 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 Centene's 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 the Health Net Acquisition or the Fidelis Care Acquisition;
disruption caused by significant completed and pending
acquisitions, including the Health Net Acquisition and 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 Health Net
Acquisition and the Fidelis Care Acquisition; changes in expected
closing dates, estimated purchase price and accretion for
acquisitions; the risk that acquired businesses, including Health
Net and Fidelis Care, will not be integrated successfully; the
risk that, following the Fidelis Care
Acquisition, Centene may not be able to effectively
manage its expanded operations; restrictions and limitations in
connection with Centene's
indebtedness; Centene's ability to achieve improvement in
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 Centene; inflation; foreign currency
fluctuations; and risks and uncertainties discussed in the reports
that Centene has filed with the SEC. These
forward-looking statements reflect Centene's current
views with respect to future events and are based on numerous
assumptions and assessments made by Centene in light of
its experience and perception of historical trends, current
conditions, business strategies, operating environments, future
developments and other factors it believes 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.
The factors described in the context of such forward-looking
statements in this press release could
cause Centene's plans with respect to the Health Net
Acquisition, the Fidelis Care Acquisition, actual results,
performance or achievements, industry results and developments to
differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Although it is currently believed that
the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are
reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations will
prove to have been correct and persons reading this press release
are therefore cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date of this
press release. Centene does not assume any obligation to
update the information contained in this press release (whether as
a result of new information, future events or otherwise), except as
required by applicable law. This list of important factors is not
intended to be exhaustive. We discuss certain of these matters more
fully, as well as certain other risk factors that may
affect Centene's business operations, financial condition
and results of operations, in Centene's filings with
the SEC, including the annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly
reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K.
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SOURCE Centene Corporation