TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- WellCare Health
Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) announced today its overall Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Star Ratings improved
for plan year 2019. More than 40 percent of WellCare's June 30, 2018 Medicare Advantage members were in
a plan with an overall rating of 4.0 Stars or higher.
Each October, CMS releases its Medicare Star Ratings to rank the
performance and quality of Medicare Advantage and Medicare
Prescription Drug Plans to help beneficiaries and their families
compare plans. Star Ratings are calculated using a scale of 1.0 to
5.0 (with 5.0 being the highest) and may change from year to
year.
Among this year's highlights:
- WellCare attained its first plan with a 4.5-Star Rating in
Houston, Texas;
- Three WellCare plans achieved an overall 4.0-Star Rating,
including Florida, New York/Maine and California, which reflects an additional plan
with a 4.0-Star Rating since 2018;
- Five WellCare plans achieved an overall 3.5-Star Rating;
- No WellCare plans received an overall Star Rating below
3.0.
"We're pleased with our most recent CMS Medicare Star Ratings,
which reflect the company's strongest performance to date," said
Ken Burdick, WellCare's chief
executive officer. "WellCare is committed to improving the quality
of our Medicare plans to ensure our members have access to
high-quality, affordable healthcare. We made significant
investments in process improvements, quality programs and our
people, and we expect to expand and enhance our provider
relationships, while investing in new product offerings to help
advance our quality goals for plan year 2020 and beyond."
For more information about CMS Star Ratings, visit:
www.medicare.gov.
For more information about WellCare's 2019 Medicare offerings,
visit www.WellCareNow.com or call toll-free at 1-877-823-8267 (TTY:
711). Hours are from 8 a.m. to 8
p.m., local time, seven days a week.
About WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
Headquartered in
Tampa, Fla., WellCare Health
Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) focuses exclusively on providing
government-sponsored managed care services to families, children,
seniors and individuals with complex medical needs primarily
through Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug
Plans, as well as individuals in the Health Insurance Marketplace.
WellCare serves approximately 5.5 million members nationwide as of
September 1, 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 company's ability to improve
quality, 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 WellCare's ability to improve healthcare quality and
access, in particular, our MA plan serving Hawaii and Louisiana received a Star Rating of 2.5 for
its Part D operations for 2018 and 2019 and could be subject to
termination by CMS if the Star Rating does not improve for 2020,
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, its 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 outcome of any
protests and litigation related to Medicaid awards, the approval of
Medicaid contracts by CMS, any changes to the programs or
contracts, WellCare's ability to address operational challenges
related to new business, and WellCare's 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
company'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, 2017 and Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, 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.