ST. LOUIS, May 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Centene
Corporation (NYSE: CNC) has announced the winners of the OpiEnd™
Youth Challenge, a targeted curriculum for adolescents ages nine
through 14 to raise awareness about opioid misuse and prevention.
The three national winners from California, Hawaii, and Arizona were presented with their awards
through a virtual ceremony on May 26,
2020.
The students were selected from over 180 submissions across 19
states. As part of this national challenge, teachers and students
discussed significant attributes of addiction and opioid misuse,
and students then showed their understanding by developing and
submitting campaign messaging that depicts ways to prevent misuse.
The winning submissions effectively raise awareness on opioid
misuse and addiction, include an original innovative concept, and
use creativity to identify ways to become part of the solution to
the opioid crisis.
"We are living through an unprecedented time with the COVID-19
pandemic, which has also presented particularly unique challenges
for those struggling with addiction and recovery," said
Ken Yamaguchi, M.D., Executive Vice
President, Chief Medical Officer for Centene. "These students did
an impressive job of depicting the impact the ongoing opioid
epidemic has on our communities."
The OpiEnd Youth Challenge is an important component of the
community outreach efforts of Centene's OpiEnd program, which
employs early intervention to prevent opioid misuse and helps save
lives. OpiEnd supports Centene's members struggling with opioid
dependency and substance use disorder across the prevention to
treatment continuum through data-driven integrated care management
and member education, pharmacy policies, provider engagement, and
community outreach interventions.
At least 2 million persons in the
United States have opioid use disorder, and more than 10
million misuse opioids. "Prevention and early education about the
dangers of opioid misuse, especially with adolescents, are crucial
components to address the opioid crisis – particularly at this
unparalleled time," said Mary Mason,
M.D., Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer of Corporate
Health Initiatives for Centene.
For more information on the OpiEnd Youth Challenge, please visit
www.opiendyouthchallenge.com.
About Centene Corporation
Centene Corporation, a Fortune 50 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 and integration 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 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 businesses we may acquire in the
future, 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 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