ST. LOUIS, March 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- February
marked the celebration of No One Eats Alone Day, a
nationwide initiative created by Beyond DifferencesTM,
to promote inclusion among children and address social isolation.
This year, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,
Centene's state-based health plans helped promote awareness
and impact change locally by hosting online events to celebrate the
occasion at schools and community organizations across the
country.
Community representatives from Centene's health plans partnered
with schools across the country to organize virtual No One
Eats Alone Day assemblies, reaching more than 23,500 children
in 47 schools. The virtual assemblies taught children about social
isolation and the negative impact it can have on a student's health
and academic performance. The children were given several
ice-breaker topics to discuss with each other and encouraged to
create new friendships with each other online.
Social isolation affects millions of students and has been
identified as a precursor to bullying, self-harm and community
violence. This past year, social isolation has gained additional
significance in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as many students
moved to virtual learning and had limited opportunities for social
interaction. However, with No One Eats Alone, students have
shown that if they are given the appropriate tools, they will stand
up for others as empathetic and caring activists, not passive
bystanders.
"As we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, promoting inclusion and
addressing social isolation has never been more important to the
health and well-being of all students nationwide," said
Marcela Manjarrez-Hawn, Senior Vice
President and Chief Communications Officer for Centene. "The No
One Eats Alone initiative underscores Centene's commitment to
whole health by offering resources that nurture children's
confidence and socialization, ultimately promoting their overall
health and wellbeing."
"The pandemic has given us all a taste of social isolation
and the desire to feel connected," said Laura Talmus, the
Co-Founder and Executive Director of Beyond
Differences. "Students and teachers need No One Eats
Alone -- now more than ever -- to continue changing the culture
in middle schools to be a more welcoming place for everyone
regardless of their differences."
More than 1,400 schools and community organizations across the
country celebrated No One Eats Alone Day. The initiative
reached more than 700,000 children in all 50 states, and additional
events will take place in the coming months. No One Eats Alone
Day is sponsored by the Centene Charitable
Foundation.
About Centene Corporation
Centene
Corporation, a Fortune 50 company, is a leading multi-national
healthcare enterprise that is committed to helping people live
healthier lives. The Company takes a local approach – with local
brands and local teams – to provide fully integrated, high-quality,
and cost-effective services to government-sponsored and commercial
healthcare programs, focusing on under-insured and uninsured
individuals. Centene offers affordable and high-quality
products to nearly 1 in 15 individuals across the nation, including
Medicaid and Medicare members (including Medicare Prescription Drug
Plans) as well as individuals and families served by
the Health Insurance Marketplace, the TRICARE program, and
individuals in correctional facilities. The Company also serves
several international markets, and contracts with other healthcare
and commercial organizations to provide a variety of specialty
services focused on treating the whole
person. Centene focuses on long-term growth and the
development of its people, systems and capabilities so that it can
better serve its members, providers, local communities, and
government partners.
About Beyond Differences
Founded in 2010, Beyond Differences is the only
student-led nonprofit organization and social justice movement
dedicated to ending social isolation. The nonprofit was created to
honor the life of Lili Rachel Smith,
a high school freshman who passed away in her sleep from medical
complications from Apert Syndrome, a cranial-facial anomaly. Lili
experienced social isolation in middle school and its effects,
including lack of self-esteem, loss of social skills needed to keep
up with her peers, and even academic decline. Beyond Differences
believes that students can lead the way to make meaningful change
in their community so that all teens feel included, valued and
accepted by their peers. The organization created three positive
prevention initiatives: Know Your Classmates™, No One Eats Alone®
and Be Kind Online™ with curriculum and activities. More than
6,500 schools nationwide use its materials, which are provided free
of charge. For more information,
visit beyonddifferences.org.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements, other than statements of current or historical
fact, contained in this press release are forward-looking
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"expect," "estimate," "intend," "seek," "target," "goal," "may,"
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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
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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 of Magellan
Health (the Magellan Acquisition), our recently completed
acquisition of WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (WellCare and
such acquisition, the WellCare Acquisition), other recent and
future acquisitions, 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 impact of COVID-19 on global markets, economic
conditions, the healthcare industry and our results of operations
and the response by governments and other third parties; the
risk that regulatory or other approvals required for the Magellan
Acquisition 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 risk that Magellan Health's
stockholders do not approve the definitive merger
agreement; the possibility that certain conditions to the
consummation of the Magellan Acquisition will not be satisfied or
completed on a timely basis and accordingly the Magellan
Acquisition 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 Magellan
Acquisition; the possibility that the expected synergies and
value creation from the Magellan Acquisition or the WellCare
Acquisition will not be realized, or will not be realized within
the applicable expected time periods; 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 the Magellan
Acquisition; the risk that unexpected costs will be incurred
in connection with the completion and/or integration of the
Magellan Acquisition or that the integration of Magellan Health
will be more difficult or time consuming than expected; the
risk that potential litigation in connection with the Magellan
Acquisition may affect the timing or occurrence of the Magellan
Acquisition or result in significant costs of defense,
indemnification and liability; a downgrade of the credit
rating of our indebtedness, which could give rise to an obligation
to redeem existing indebtedness; the possibility that
competing offers will be made to acquire Magellan Health; the
inability to retain key personnel; disruption from the
announcement, pendency and/or completion and/or integration of the
Magellan Acquisition or the integration of the WellCare
Acquisition, or similar risks from other acquisitions we may
announce or complete from time to time, 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; our ability to
accurately predict and effectively manage health benefits and other
operating expenses and reserves, including fluctuations in medical
utilization rates due to the impact of COVID-19; 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 (ACA) and the Health Care and
Education Affordability Reconciliation Act, collectively referred
to as the ACA and any regulations enacted thereunder that may
result from changing political conditions, the new administration
or judicial actions, including the ultimate outcome 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; tax matters; disasters or
major epidemics; changes in expected contract start dates;
provider, state, federal, foreign 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 legal and regulatory
proceedings 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 businesses we may
acquire in the future, 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; disruption
caused by significant completed and pending acquisitions 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;
changes in expected closing dates, estimated purchase price and
accretion for acquisitions; the risk that acquired businesses will
not be integrated successfully; restrictions and limitations in
connection with our indebtedness; our ability to maintain or
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 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 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