Dive Brief:
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WellCare Ken Burdick CEO said in a statement that the purchase of Universal American Corp. increases WellCare's Medicare Advantage membership by one-third and deepens its presence in Texas and New York.
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Burdick added that WellCare will leverage Universal American’s “core competency in physician engagement to strengthen and grow our value-based provider relationships.”
- Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., WellCare provides government-sponsored managed care services through Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans. The company has 4 million members.
Dive Insight:
The move gives WellCare 69,000 Medicare Advantage members in the Houston-Beaumont, Texas, area, and more than 20,000 Medicare Advantage members in the Northeast, primarily in New York.
WellCare is the second insurer in the past week to promote a greater emphasis on Medicare Advantage. Humana President and CEO Bruce Broussard said recently during the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting that the company will leave the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges and focus on Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage patients in 2018.
There will be a better idea of how financials are going with WellCare when it announces its first quarter results for 2017 on Wednesday. Recently, Centene Corporation and Anthem both released first quarter results that showed substantial growth and a commitment to remain in the ACA exchanges in 2018.