ST. LOUIS, May 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Centene
Corporation (NYSE: CNC) today announced its support for National
Mental Health Month through a number of initiatives that empower
providers and individuals to address behavioral health challenges,
including substance use disorder (SUD). This year, the observance
carries added significance as communities attempt to recover from
the COVID-19 pandemic and the additional stressors that impacted
overall health, including fear, isolation, and economic
anxiety.
Furthering Centene's commitment to treating the whole health of
its members, in January 2021, Centene
and Magellan Health, Inc. announced that they have entered into a
definitive merger agreement under which Centene will acquire
Magellan Health. Upon closing, the acquisition will broaden and
deepen Centene's whole health capabilities and establish a leading
behavioral health platform at a critical time.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 31%
of U.S. adults reported symptoms of anxiety or depression and 26%
reported stress-related symptoms, numbers nearly double the rates
expected before the pandemic. Evidence shows that behavioral health
challenges can also drive substance misuse, which can further
exacerbate those challenges and impact a person's overall health.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, substance use for those with SUD
increased by 20% along with a surge in first-time diagnoses of
SUD.
"Behavioral health challenges require a comprehensive approach
to care that considers the physical and mental health needs of
individuals," said Centene's Chief Behavioral Health Officer,
Brett Hart, PhD. "At Centene, we
recognize that we are in a unique position to support behavioral
health challenges, as we can serve as care integrators to help
ensure they're supported at each stage of the care continuum."
Centene is committed to providing solutions to help individuals
overcome behavioral health challenges and resulting conditions such
as SUD. In recognition of National Mental Health Month, Centene is
continuing to offer support through programs and partnerships such
as:
- Centene OpiEnd™ – This evidence-based
program uses predictive modeling to identify members at high risk
of developing an opioid addiction to prevent worsening of symptoms
by connecting members to necessary care.
- Partnership with YWCA – The Young Women Choosing Action
program engages teenage girls from low-income families, especially
communities of color, to teach them about the impacts of trauma and
develop relationship and leadership skills.
- Expanded Partnership with Quartet Health – The
partnership extends Quartet's national network of care options such
as virtual tele-psychiatry and tele-therapy to members nationwide
to improve behavioral health care accessibility.
- Provider Training & Support – Centene Advanced
Behavioral Health trains hundreds of clinicians on HEDIS®
behavioral health measures, treatments, diagnostic codes, and
service codes to improve health outcomes.
- Suicide Safer Care Program – In collaboration with the
Association of Clinicians for the Underserved and Concert Health,
this program provides trainings to health centers on evidence-based
practices for suicide prevention in primary care, including
screening, testing, and intervention techniques.
- Choose Tomorrow™ – Centene's suicide
prevention program uses predictive modeling and evidence-based
practices to identify suicide risk, determine the best course of
intervention, and monitor the member's treatment progress to
improve outcomes and prevent suicide.
For more information about Centene's commitment to behavioral
health and addressing substance misuse, visit www.centene.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 proposed acquisition of Magellan
Health (the Magellan Acquisition), our recently completed
acquisition of WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (WellCare and such
acquisition, the WellCare Acquisition), 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, the healthcare industry and
our results of operations and the response by governments and other
third parties to COVID-19; the risk that regulatory or
other approvals required for the Magellan Acquisition may be
delayed or not obtained or are subject to unanticipated conditions
that could require the exertion of management's time and our
resources or otherwise have an adverse effect on
us; the possibility that certain conditions to the
consummation of the Magellan Acquisition will not be satisfied or
completed on a timely basis and accordingly the Magellan
Acquisition may not be consummated on a timely basis or at all;
uncertainty as to the expected financial performance of the
combined company following completion of the Magellan
Acquisition; the possibility that the expected
synergies and value creation from the Magellan Acquisition or the
WellCare Acquisition 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, which could give rise to an
obligation to redeem existing 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,
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; tax matters; disasters or major epidemics; changes
in expected contract start dates; provider, state, federal, foreign
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
legal and regulatory proceedings 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, including the
Magellan acquisition; disruption caused by significant
completed and pending acquisitions 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; 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