ST. LOUIS, May 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Centene
Corporation (NYSE: CNC) announced today a plan to provide
additional mental health resources to populations impacted by the
COVID-19 pandemic. Through a series of local partnerships, Centene
will enable providers to better support communities that are
experiencing elevated levels of stress and mental strain caused by
an increase in grief, loss, economic pressure, unemployment and
social isolation. The month of May is recognized as Mental Health
Month, a national movement to raise awareness about mental
health.
"We must consider the negative toll that the pandemic is taking
on the mental health of our communities – especially among
underserved communities," said Michael F.
Neidorff, Chairman, President and CEO of Centene. "We
will continue to support these populations across the continuum of
care throughout the pandemic and beyond."
As part of this effort Centene is announcing three investments
to support the following programs:
- Provider Training and Support – Training for
hundreds of clinicians and support for thousands of front-line
providers dealing with the COVID-19 crisis and the increase in
mental health-related challenges in their practices
- Support for 'Warmline' Call Centers – A series of
donations to local organizations coping with an increase in demand
for their 'warmlines,' which provide early interventions to
potential mental health crises
- Expanding access to Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) – An
investment to help the National Council for Behavioral Health
(NCBH) transition part of their training program to a virtual
program, which will enable the training of up to 8,000 MHFA
participants over the next year
Provider Training and Support
For many, the emotional trauma of COVID-19 will last longer than
the pandemic itself. Centene is partnering with Allegheny Health
Network and the CARES Institute at Rowan
University to fund 25 virtual Trauma-Focused Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) training cohorts, which will enable up
to 600 clinicians nationally to receive this highly effective
training. TF-CBT is an evidence-based treatment for the impact of
traumatic experience on child and adolescent mental health.
Centene is also directing funds to the Crisis Text Line to
support their 'For the Frontlines' initiative. For the Frontlines
provides fast, free, text-based crisis support to individuals on
the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic response, including
doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other essential workers.
"The most common word in messages received by the Crisis Text
Line now is 'quarantine,'" said Nancy Lublin, Co-Founder and CEO of
the Crisis Text Line. "We're excited for this opportunity to
partner with Centene to expand the reach of the Crisis Text Line at
a time when it is needed more than ever."
Support for 'Warmline' Call Centers
Additionally, Centene is partnering with peer warmlines, which
are dedicated call centers for mild to moderate behavioral health
needs, in states hardest hit by COVID-19, including California, Michigan, New
York, New Jersey,
Louisiana, Illinois, and Florida. As part of this partnership, Centene
will allocate funds to assist warmlines in meeting the demand for
increased capacity brought on by the pandemic.
"The donation the Mental Health Association of San Francisco (MHASF) is receiving from the
Centene will be used to help increase the capacity of the
California Peer-Run Warm Line including adding staff, improving
training programs, and adding needed technology and equipment, as
more Californians are seeking non-judgmental emotional support due
to COVID-19," said Mark Salazar,
MHA, Executive Director, Mental Health Association of San Francisco, one of the organizations who
will receive support from Centene. "This generous donation will
help ensure MHASF continues to have the resources to be there when
someone is experiencing the distress, anxiety, and fear triggered
by COVID-19 and is impacting their mental and physical
wellbeing."
Expanding Access to Mental Health First Aid Training
To ensure a long-term impact beyond the current pandemic,
Centene will donate to the National Council for Behavioral Health's
COVID-19 Relief Fund, specifically for the provision of Mental
Health First Aid. Mental Health First Aid teaches citizens to
recognize signs that someone might be experiencing a mental health
crisis, suicidal thinking, or abusing substances. Centene's support
will assist in moving Mental Health First Aid training from
face-to-face to a virtual environment, allowing more individuals
greater access to certification at this critical time.
"We are grateful that Centene has contributed to the National
Council's COVID-19 Relief Fund in such a meaningful way," said
National Council for Behavioral Health President and Chief
Executive Officer Chuck Ingoglia.
"The role of Mental Health First Aid is even more critical to our
nation's health in the wake of this pandemic. With Centene's
support, we will inform and educate thousands of new Mental Health
First Aiders to provide them with the tools to respond to the
mental health challenges borne of this world-wide crisis."
About Centene Corporation
Centene Corporation, a Fortune 100 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.
Centene uses its investor relations website to publish important
information about the company, including information that may be
deemed material to investors. Financial and other information about
Centene is routinely posted and is accessible on Centene's investor
relations website, http://www.centene.com/investors.
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 "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 (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, growth strategy, competition,
expected activities in completed and future acquisitions, including
statements about the impact of our recently completed acquisition
(the WellCare Acquisition) of WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
(WellCare), 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
and the healthcare industry and our results of operations, which is
unknown, uncertainty as to our expected financial performance
following completion of the WellCare Acquisition; the possibility
that the expected synergies and value creation from the WellCare
Acquisition will not be realized, or will not be realized within
the expected time period; the risk that unexpected costs will be
incurred in connection with the integration of the WellCare
Acquisition or that the integration of WellCare will be more
difficult or time consuming than expected; unexpected costs,
charges or expenses resulting from the WellCare Acquisition; the
inability to retain key personnel; disruption from the completion
of the WellCare Acquisition, 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; the risk that, following
the WellCare Acquisition, we may not be able to effectively manage
our expanded operations; our ability to accurately predict and
effectively manage health benefits and other operating expenses and
reserves; 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 Affordable Care
Act (ACA) and any regulations enacted thereunder that may result
from changing political conditions 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 on
the Health Insurance Marketplaces and other commercial and Medicare
products; tax matters; disasters or major epidemics; the outcome of
legal and regulatory proceedings; changes in expected contract
start dates; provider, state, federal 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 litigation 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, without limitation, the WellCare Acquisition, 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, including, among others, the WellCare
Acquisition, 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, including WellCare, will not be
integrated successfully; the risk that we may not be able to
effectively manage our operations as they have expanded as a result
of the WellCare Acquisition; 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