TAMPA, Fla., May 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As previously announced by Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) on April 24, 2018, Staywell Health Plan, a subsidiary of WellCare Health Plans, Inc. WCG, received a Notice of Agency Decision from AHCA that it intends to award Staywell a new five-year contract to provide managed care services to Medicaid-eligible beneficiaries in the state of Florida. The new Statewide Medicaid Managed Care (SMMC) program is expected to begin no earlier than Oct. 1, 2018.

Staywell has been selected to serve Comprehensive Plan members in 10 of 11 regions (all counties except Broward), representing an increase of two regions (nine counties). Under the Comprehensive Plan, Staywell will continue to provide Managed Medical Assistance (MMA) services and add Long-Term Care (LTC) services for Medicaid beneficiaries ages 18 and older in need of nursing facility-level care.

Staywell has also been selected to serve Specialty Plan members with a diagnosis of Serious Mental Illness (SMI) across all 11 regions of the SMMC program. Under the SMI Specialty Plan, Staywell will serve members ages six and older diagnosed with a serious mental illness or behavioral health condition. Staywell will be the sole SMI Specialty Plan contractor for the Florida SMMC program.

"Staywell has proudly served Florida's Medicaid managed care program for more than 20 years," said Elizabeth Miller, WellCare's state president in Florida. "This announcement reflects our proven track record of providing access to high-quality, comprehensive healthcare for our Medicaid members. We look forward to partnering with the state, our network of providers and our local communities to deliver quality care and services that help Floridians live better, healthier lives."

Under the current SMMC program, nationally accredited health plans provide access to health services to approximately 2.9 million MMA beneficiaries, 100,000 LTC beneficiaries and 78,000 SMI beneficiaries in Florida, as of March 31, 2018.

About WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., WellCare Health Plans, Inc. 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. The company served approximately 4.3 million members nationwide as of March 31, 2018. For more information about WellCare, please visit the company's website at www.wellcare.com.

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," "will," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. For example, statements regarding the date for commencement of services under the new 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 and litigation related to the Medicaid awards, the approval of the contract by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, any changes to the program or contract, WellCare's ability to address operational challenges relating to the implementation of the contract requirements, including, but not limited to, meeting the requirements of readiness reviews, WellCare's progress on top priorities such as integrating care management, advocating for our members, building advanced relationships with providers and government partners, ensuring a competitive cost position, and delivering prudent, profitable growth, WellCare's ability to effectively estimate and manage growth, WellCare's ability to meet 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, WellCare's ability to improve healthcare quality and access, and its ability to negotiate actuarially sound rates, especially in new programs with limited experience. 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, 2017, the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 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.

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SOURCE WellCare Health Plans, Inc.