Centene Affiliate Carolina Complete Health To Partner With Selected Behavioral Health I/DD Tailored Plans

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Aug 02, 2021, 07:00 ET

ST. LOUIS, Aug. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) announced today its North Carolina subsidiary, Carolina Complete Health – a provider-led health plan established in partnership with the North Carolina Medical Society and working in conjunction with the North Carolina Community Health Center Association – will help coordinate integrated physical health, behavioral health, long-term care, pharmacy services, and unmet health-related resource needs for individuals with significant behavioral health conditions with two of the newly awarded Local Management Entities/Managed Care Organizations (LME/MCOs) for Behavioral Health I/DD Tailored Plans.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced that Partners Health Management and Trillium Health Resources will begin operating as Tailored Plans when the program goes live, which is anticipated to occur on July 1, 2022.

"We are honored and excited to work with these strong local organizations, Partners and Trillium," said Chris Paterson, CEO of Carolina Complete Health. "We believe healthcare is best delivered locally, and through these partnerships, we further our ability to provide high-quality, coordinated care in North Carolina. We look forward to joining Trillium and Partners in advancing this innovative model of care in North Carolina."

"Partners is excited to align with Carolina Complete Health to ensure quality, comprehensive, integrated services are available to our members," said Rhett Melton, CEO of Partners Behavioral Health Management. "The alignment of values between the organizations for member-focused, mission-driven, collaborative models of care will serve our communities well and be a model for others."

"Trillium looks forward to partnering with Carolina Complete Health, whose national parent Centene has many years serving members in managed care programs," said Leza Wainwright, CEO, Trillium Health Resources. "Our shared dedication to ensuring quality services, building close relationships, and offering innovative approaches to care will help us continue improving lives and supporting community well-being for years to come."

Centene is the largest Medicaid managed care organization in the country, serving 13 million Medicaid members in 29 states. Carolina Complete Health is a provider-led health plan and joint venture partnership with the North Carolina Medical Society working in conjunction with the North Carolina Community Health Center Association (NCCHCA). The health plan was established to deliver Medicaid managed care in North Carolina, which began operations on July 1, 2021.

With the implementation of North Carolina's Behavioral Health I/DD Tailored Plans, Partners and Trillium will contract with Carolina Complete Health as a Standard Plan partner. Carolina Complete Health will assist with care management, utilization management, and network contracting and provider relations – primarily related to physical health – to individuals with serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, severe substance use disorder, intellectual/developmental disability, and traumatic brain injury.

Any reference in this press release to any person, organization, activity, or services related to North Carolina Medicaid does not constitute or imply the endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

About Centene
Centene Corporation, a Fortune 25 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.

Forward-Looking Statements
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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 completed acquisition of WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (WellCare and such acquisition, the WellCare Acquisition), other recent and future acquisitions, investments, the adequacy of our available cash resources and our settlements with Ohio and Mississippi to resolve claims and/or allegations made by those states with regard to past practices at Envolve Pharmacy Solutions, Inc. (Envolve), as our pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) subsidiary, and other possible future claims and settlements related to the past practices at Envolve and our ability to settle claims with other states within the reserve estimate we have recorded and on other acceptable terms, or at all. 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. 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the possibility that the expected synergies and value creation from the Magellan Acquisition or the WellCare Acquisition (or other acquired businesses) will not be realized, or will not be realized within the respective expected time periods; 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; the inability to retain key personnel; disruption from the announcement, pendency, completion and/or integration of the Magellan Acquisition or from 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 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; rate cuts or other payment reductions or delays by governmental payors and other risks and uncertainties affecting our government businesses; 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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.

SOURCE Centene Corporation