WellCare Selected for Contract to Implement Nebraska's Statewide, Integrated Heritage Health Program
TAMPA, Fla., April 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) announced today that the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Medicaid and Long-Term Care has selected WellCare of Nebraska to administer the Heritage Health program. Heritage Health is a new health care delivery system that combines Nebraska's current physical health, behavioral health and pharmacy programs into a single comprehensive and coordinated system for approximately 230,000 Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollees.
WellCare was one of three managed care organizations selected. The contract is for a five-year term, with two additional one-year renewal options. The program is expected to begin on Jan. 1, 2017, pending regulatory approvals.
"We spent over a year in the state learning about Nebraska and meeting with people in the urban, rural and frontier areas of the state to design a program that best addresses the health needs of Nebraska's low-income populations," said Ken Burdick, WellCare's CEO. "We look forward to building strong partnerships with the state, providers and communities to deliver integrated solutions that support improved health outcomes for those with complex medical and social needs."
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," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. For example, statements regarding the potential participation in the Heritage Health program 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, the outcome of any protests related to the awards, the approval by the Centers of Medicaid and Medicare Services of the terms of the contract, any changes to the programs or contract, WellCare's progress on top priorities such as improving health care quality and access, ensuring a competitive cost position, and delivering prudent, profitable growth, WellCare's ability to effectively estimate and manage growth, WellCare's ability to address operational challenges relating to the implementation of new contract requirements, including, but not limited to, meeting the requirements of readiness reviews, potential reductions in Medicaid revenue, WellCare's ability to estimate and manage medical benefits expense effectively, including through its vendors and WellCare's ability to comply with the terms of the Corporate Integrity Agreement. 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 (SEC), 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, 2015, and other filings by WellCare with the SEC, 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 undertakes no duty to update these forward-looking statements to reflect any future events, developments, or otherwise.
About WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) focuses exclusively on providing government-sponsored managed care services, primarily through Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans, to families, children, seniors and individuals with complex medical needs. WellCare serves approximately 3.8 million members nationwide as of Dec. 31, 2015. For more information about WellCare, please visit the company's website at www.wellcare.com or view the company's videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/WellCareHealthPlan.
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SOURCE WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
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