TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- WellCare of
Florida, a WellCare Health Plans,
Inc. (NYSE: WCG) company, announced it has named Donald Fillipps,
M.D., FAAP, medical director for its Children's Medical Services
Health Plan (CMS Plan) contract. WellCare will operate the CMS Plan
in partnership with the Florida Department of Health (DOH). Dr.
Fillipps will oversee the strategy and clinical direction of
medical services and quality improvement for Florida's CMS Plan members. He will report to
Dr. Alan Smith, WellCare's chief
medical officer for the state of Florida.
Florida's CMS Plan covers more
than 60,000 medically complex children who are under the age of 21
and covered by Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program
(CHIP). WellCare has been awarded a statewide contract for the CMS
Plan.
"Dr. Fillipps is an accomplished pediatrician and healthcare
executive who has advocated on behalf of children with special
healthcare needs for more than three decades," said Elizabeth Miller, WellCare's state president in
Florida. "His experience and
mission to serve aligns closely with our mission to provide access
to quality care and services to Florida's most vulnerable children."
"We are pleased Dr. Fillipps is joining WellCare," said state
surgeon general and secretary Dr. Celeste
Philip. "As an experienced pediatrician who has devoted his
career to helping children as well as having extensive experience
with the CMS Plan, he is well-suited to provide the administrative
and clinical leadership necessary to achieve our program's
goals."
Most recently, Dr. Fillipps served as an associate professor at
the University of Florida's School of
Medicine. He also previously served as medical director of
Ped-I-Care, which works with Children's Medical Services (CMS) to
provide a system of care to children with special healthcare needs;
medical director of the CMS children's multidisciplinary assessment
team; and associate chief, general pediatrics, University of Florida.
Dr. Fillipps received his bachelor's degree from Albion College in Albion,
Michigan, and his medical degree from the CETEC University
School of Medicine, Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic. He is board-certified in pediatrics and
completed his residency program in pediatrics at Sacred Heart
Children's Hospital in Pensacola,
Florida. He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of
Pediatrics.
About WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
Headquartered in
Tampa, Fla., WellCare Health
Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) focuses primarily 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.
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SOURCE WellCare Health Plans, Inc.