ST. LOUIS, Oct. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Centene
Corporation (NYSE: CNC) announced today it plans to expand its
Medicare Advantage offerings, offering its wide range of Medicare
Advantage plans in 1,575 counties across 36 states during the 2022
Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP).
"At a time when many seniors and their families are still
grappling with the effects of the pandemic, we are committed to
expanding choice and access to high-quality, affordable Medicare
plans during this year's Annual Enrollment Period," said
Brent Layton, Centene's President
and Chief Operating Officer.
Today, Centene serves more than 1.1 million Medicare Advantage
members across 33 states. Beginning in 2022, the company will offer
plans in 327 new counties, representing a 26% increase, and three
new states, including Massachusetts, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, bringing its total number of
Medicare Advantage states to 36. Overall, Centene's expanded
footprint will reach 48 million Medicare-eligible adults across the
country.
In September, Centene also announced it would consolidate
its current Medicare brands, including Allwell, Health Net,
Fidelis Care, Trillium Advantage,
'Ohana Health Plan, and TexanPlus, under one unified brand:
Wellcare. Additionally, the company announced Hall of Fame
quarterback Joe Montana will serve
as Wellcare's brand ambassador.[i] Montana will
collaborate on TV commercials, digital ads, social media, and other
communications to help seniors understand their Medicare
options.
"As our national footprint continues to grow, we are focused on
creating one Medicare brand to better align with our strategy and
goals, help us deliver on our mission, and, most importantly,
better serve our 1.1 million Medicare Advantage members across the
country," said Rich Fisher, SVP and
CEO of Medicare for Centene.
About Centene Corporation
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.
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, https://investors.centene.com/.
Wellcare is the Medicare brand for Centene Corporation, an
HMO, PPO, PFFS, PDP plan with a Medicare contract and is an
approved Part D Sponsor. Our D-SNP plans have a contract with the
state Medicaid program. Enrollment in our plans depends on contract
renewal.
'Ohana Health Plan, a plan offered by WellCare Health
Insurance of Arizona, Inc.
Our plans use a formulary.
For New Mexico D-SNP plans: Such services are funded in part
with the state of New
Mexico.
For Louisiana D-SNP members:>> As a WellCare HMO D-SNP
member, you have coverage from both Medicare and Medicaid. You
receive your Medicare health care and prescription drug coverage
through WellCare and are also eligible to receive additional health
care services and coverage through Louisiana Medicaid. Learn more
about providers who participate in Louisiana Medicaid by visiting
https://www.myplan.healthy.la.gov/myaccount/choose/find-provider.
For detailed information about Louisiana Medicaid benefits, please
visit the Medicaid website at https://ldh.la.gov/medicaid and
select the "Learn about Medicaid Services" link.
For Tennessee D-SNP plans: Notice: TennCare is not
responsible for payment for these benefits, except for appropriate
cost sharing amounts. TennCare is not responsible for guaranteeing
the availability or quality of these benefits.
For Indiana D-SNP prospective enrollees:>> For detailed
information about Indiana Medicaid benefits, please visit the
Medicaid website at https://www.in.gov/medicaid/
Please contact your plan for details.
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 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. 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; 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 (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; 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 legal or regulatory proceedings or matters,
including claims against our PBM business or whether additional
claims, reviews or investigations relating to our PBM business will
be brought by states, the federal government or shareholder
litigants, or government investigations; challenges to our contract
awards; cyber-attacks or other privacy or data security incidents;
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.
[i] Joe Montana is a
paid Medicare brand ambassador for Wellcare.
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SOURCE Centene Corporation