WellCare

WellCare Health Plans, Inc. is an American health insurance company that provides managed care services primarily through Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug plans for members across the United States.

WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryHealthcare
FoundedTampa, Florida (1985)
Headquarters
Tampa, Florida
,
United States
ServicesManaged care
RevenueIncrease US$17.007 billion (2017)[1]
Decrease US$469 million (2017)[1]
Increase US$374 million (2017)[1]
Total assetsIncrease US$8.365 billion (2017)[1]
Total equityIncrease US$2.417 billion (2017)[1]
Number of employees
14,000 (October 2019)[1]
ParentCentene Corporation
Websitehttp://www.wellcare.com
Footnotes / references
[2]

WellCare began operations in 1985 and has its headquarters in Tampa, Florida. It became a subsidiary of Centene Corporation in January 2020.

History
A WellCare bus in Astoria, Queens, New York City.

WellCare began operations in 1985 in Tampa, Florida as a Medicaid provider for the State of Florida.[3] In 1992, Kiran Patel, a cardiologist and entrepreneur, purchased the company.[4][5]

In 2002, Patel sold it to a NY investment group led by George Soros and Todd Farha.[5] Also in 2002, Todd Farha joined the company as CEO.[6][7]

In 2004, it became a public company via an initial public offering.[8] In 2006, WellCare began offering Medicare Advantage plans with prescription drug benefits after the signing of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act in 2003.[9]

Also in 2006, WellCare began offering Medicare Part D plans.[10]

2007 Florida investigations

On October 24, 2007, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant on WellCare's headquarters in Tampa, FL based on a whistleblower complaint that provided evidence of WellCare inflating patients' treatment costs and not returning overpayments to the state. The complaint also named several employees who knew about the activities.[11][12]

In 2011, the SEC filed criminal charges against four WellCare executives. In 2013, the executives, including former CEO Todd Farha, were found guilty of the charges, including healthcare fraud and making false statements to law enforcement.[13] Between 2008 and 2012, the company agreed to pay a total of $217.5 million to settle the claims against them.[14][15][16]

2008-2019

In January 2008, Heath Schiesser was promoted to president and CEO, replacing Todd Farha.[17] Schiesser was replaced in December 2009 by Alec Cunningham.[18]

In 2012, WellCare expanded its Medicare business through the acquisition of several companies' Medicare businesses, including Arcadian Health Plan in Arizona and Easy Choice Health Plan in California.[10][19]

In November 2013, WellCare appointed Chairman David Gallitano to serve as interim CEO.[20]

In 2018, 2019 and 2020 Fortune magazine named WellCare as one of the World's Most Admired Companies.[21][22]

Centene acquisition

In January 2020, the company was acquired by Centene Corporation for $17 billion.[23] According to Fierce Healthcare, the merger created one of the largest sponsors of government coverage in the country.[23][24] Following the merger, WellCare's CFO Andrew Asher became the CFO of Centene and CEO Kenneth Burdick joined the executive team at Centene.[25][26]

Acquisitions

Since 2012, WellCare has acquired several Medicare & Medicaid supplement providers, including:

See also

References
  1. "WellCare Health Plans, Inc. 2017 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". sec.gov. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 2018.
  2. "US SEC: Form 10-K WellCare Health Plans, Inc". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  3. "WellCare says its headquarters will remain in Tampa through 2030". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  4. "FBI RAID SHUTTERS MEDICARE INSURER". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  5. "Centene to buy Tampa-based WellCare in $17B deal, creating powerhouse in Medicaid, Medicare and Obamacare". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  6. "First-every proxy tells of WellCare's healthy rewards". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  7. Goldstein, Jacob (January 25, 2008). "WellCare CEO Resigns". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  8. Pritchard, Carolyn (June 30, 2004). "WellCare Group prices IPO of 7.3M shares at $17 each". MarketWatch.
  9. "How WellCare got so rich". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  10. "WellCare CEO Alec Cunningham outlines once-troubled company's 'cultural transformation'". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  11. "FBI, HHS raid WellCare headquarters". Modern Healthcare. February 7, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  12. Gentry, Carol; Wells, Mike (June 28, 2010). "Judge unseals whistle-blower complaint on WellCare Health Plans".
  13. "Ex-WellCare CEO Found Guilty in $40 Million Medicaid Scheme". Bloomberg.com. June 11, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  14. Reed, Travis (February 14, 2009). "AP: In Medicaid reform, Fla. GOP saw rich benefit". The Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009.
  15. Fuhrmans, Vanessa (May 6, 2009). "WellCare Agrees to Pay $80 Million to Settle Medicaid Case". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  16. "WellCare agrees to pay over $137.5 million in settlement". Modern Healthcare. March 5, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  17. "WellCare President and CEO Schiesser to resign". Boston.com. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  18. "Subsidized then scrutinized: Health care reform could deliver added examination of executive pay". Crain's Detroit Business. August 16, 2010. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  19. "WellCare completes Easy Choice acquisition". Modern Healthcare. March 5, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  20. "'Interim' CEO of WellCare shakes things up". tampabay.com. May 23, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  21. "See where these 5 Tamba Bay companies rank". www.bizjournals.com. January 19, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  22. "Four Tampa Bay companies ranked as world's "most admired"". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  23. "How the WellCare acquisition is driving Centene's approach to Medicare Advantage". FierceHealthcare. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  24. Japsen, Bruce. "WellCare's Medicare Numbers Rise As Centene Deal Moves Ahead". Forbes. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  25. "WellCare CEO, CFO to join Centene's executive leadership team". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  26. "Centene announces C-suite change with new CFO". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  27. "WellCare acquires UnitedHealth Group's South Carolina Medicaid business". Modern Healthcare. February 7, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  28. "Aetna selling Missouri Medicaid business". STLtoday.com. January 22, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  29. "Windsor Health deal gives WellCare customers in all 50 states". Modern Healthcare. February 7, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  30. "WellCare completes purchase of Care1st Plan of Arizona". Modern Healthcare. January 4, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  31. "WellCare completes $800M acquisition of Universal American". www.beckershospitalreview.com. May 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  32. Inc, WellCare Health Plans. "WellCare Completes Acquisition Of Arizona Medicaid Assets Of Phoenix Health Plan" (Press release). Retrieved June 21, 2019. {{cite press release}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  33. "Aetna drug plan poised to be WellCare's latest high-profile acquisition". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  34. Japsen, Bruce. "WellCare To Buy Meridian Health Plans And PBM For $2.5 Billion". Forbes. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  35. "WellCare's $2.5 billion purchase of Meridian makes it the Tampa Bay area's biggest company by market cap". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  36. "CVS-Aetna Merger Wins Antitrust Approval From Judge". The New York Times. Reuters. September 4, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
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