$500,000 grant
from Meridian will support $2.5
million in lending power to fuel growth and community
development
CHICAGO, Nov. 21,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Meridian Health Plan of
Illinois, Inc. (Meridian), a
provider of government-sponsored managed care services to families,
children, seniors and individuals with complex medical needs and a
Centene Corporation company (NYSE:CNC), today announced its
support of Liberty Bank and Trust's small business loan
program to offer loans to small businesses, including diverse and
minority-owned, ranging from $10,000
to $50,000. Under the partnership,
Meridian has granted $500,000 in seed
funding to Liberty's Lighting Loan Program to support $2.5 million in lending power to minority owned
or led small businesses based in Illinois. Businesses may qualify for funding
following a fast application process in as little as 48 hours.
As of October, small business owners may submit a loan
application to access capital and supplemental educational
programming to enhance their capabilities, improve their operations
and bolster their ability to deliver goods and services in
communities across the state of Illinois. The partnership builds on Meridian's
commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and dedication to
investment partners and suppliers who support the members and
communities Meridian serves.
"We're excited to partner with Liberty Bank and Trust to create
this innovative funding model for the businesses that make a
critical difference in the communities we serve," said Cristal Gary, Meridian Plan President and Chief
Executive Officer. "It is an honor to contribute to the growth of
small, and potentially diverse, businesses in Illinois."
"We are thrilled to partner with Meridian Health Plan of
Illinois to create a new source of
capital for Illinois' small
businesses," said Todd O. McDonald,
President, Liberty Bank and Trust. "This collaboration aligns
with our mission to foster economic empowerment in underserved
communities. This partnership will provide the opportunity for
local businesses to have quick and affordable access to the funds
they need to grow, create jobs and strengthen the fabric of our
communities. At Liberty Bank, we believe in the power of
possibility, and through this partnership with Meridian, we are
turning that belief into tangible opportunities for small
businesses."
For more information, visit libertybank.net/meridian.
About Meridian Health Plan of Illinois
Meridian Health Plan of
Illinois, Inc. and its family of
health plans provide government-sponsored managed care services to
families, children, seniors, and individuals with complex medical
needs. This includes Meridian's Medicaid and Medicare-Medicaid
plans, and YouthCare HealthChoice Illinois. YouthCare is a
specialized program designed to address the healthcare needs of
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) youth in
out-of-home placement and former foster youth. Meridian connects
members to care and offers comprehensive services to support
lifelong health and wellness. Meridian is a leading healthcare
enterprise committed to helping people live healthier lives and a
Centene Corporation company. Learn more at ILmeridian.com.
About Liberty Bank and Trust
Founded in 1972, Liberty
Bank and Trust is the largest Black-owned financial institution in
the United States, with assets
exceeding $1 billion and branches
across 11 states. As a trusted Minority Depository Institution
(MDI) and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI),
Liberty Bank and Trust is committed to making a lasting impact in
the communities they serve.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements, other than statements of current or historical
fact, contained in this press release are forward-looking
statements. Without limiting the foregoing, forward-looking
statements often use words such as "guidance," "believe,"
"anticipate," "plan," "expect," "estimate," "intend," "seek,"
"target," "goal," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "can,"
"continue" and other similar words or expressions (and the negative
thereof). Centene Corporation and its subsidiaries (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 Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995, and we are including this statement for purposes of
complying with these safe-harbor provisions. In particular, these
statements include, without limitation, statements about our future
operating or financial performance, market opportunity,
competition, expected contract or program start dates and terms,
expected activities in connection with completed and future
acquisitions and dispositions, our 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: our ability to design and price
products that are competitive and/or actuarially sound including
but not limited to any impacts resulting from Medicaid
redeterminations; 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; our ability to
accurately predict and effectively manage health benefits and other
operating expenses and reserves, including fluctuations in medical
utilization rates; competition, including for providers, broker
distribution networks, contract reprocurements and organic growth;
our ability to adequately anticipate demand and provide for
operational resources to maintain service level requirements; our
ability to manage our information systems effectively; disruption,
unexpected costs, or similar risks from business transactions,
including acquisitions, divestitures, and changes in our
relationships with third parties; impairments to real estate,
investments, goodwill and intangible assets; changes in senior
management, loss of one or more key personnel or an inability to
attract, hire, integrate and retain skilled personnel; membership
and revenue declines or unexpected trends; rate cuts or other
payment reductions or delays by governmental payors and other risks
and uncertainties affecting our government businesses; changes in
healthcare practices, new technologies, and advances in medicine;
our ability to effectively and ethically use artificial
intelligence and machine learning in compliance with applicable
laws; increased healthcare costs; inflation and interest rates; the
effect of social, economic, and political conditions and
geopolitical events, including as a result of changes in U.S.
presidential administrations or Congress; changes in 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 (collectively referred
to as the ACA) and any regulations enacted thereunder; uncertainty
concerning government shutdowns, debt ceilings or funding; tax
matters; disasters, climate-related incidents, acts of war or
aggression or major epidemics; changes in expected contract start
dates and terms; changes in provider, broker, vendor, state,
federal and other contracts and delays in the timing of regulatory
approval of contracts, including due to protests; the expiration,
suspension, or termination of our contracts with federal or state
governments (including, but not limited to, Medicaid, Medicare or
other customers); the difficulty of predicting the timing or
outcome of legal or regulatory audits, investigations, proceedings
or matters including, but not limited to, our ability to resolve
claims and/or allegations made by states with regard to past
practices on acceptable terms, or at all, or whether additional
claims, reviews or investigations will be brought by states, the
federal government or shareholder litigants, or government
investigations; challenges to our contract awards; cyber-attacks or
other data security incidents or our failure to comply with
applicable privacy, data or security laws and regulations; the
exertion of management's time and our resources, and other expenses
incurred and business changes required in connection with complying
with the terms of our contracts and the undertakings in connection
with any regulatory, governmental, or third party consents or
approvals for acquisitions or dispositions; any changes in expected
closing dates, estimated purchase price, or accretion for
acquisitions or dispositions; losses in our investment portfolio;
restrictions and limitations in connection with our indebtedness; a
downgrade of our corporate family rating, issuer rating or credit
rating of our indebtedness; the availability of debt and equity
financing on terms that are favorable to us and risks and
uncertainties discussed in the reports that Centene has filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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 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 Meridian of Illinois