Harmony Health Plan Selected to Participate in the Statewide Illinois Managed Care Medicaid Program

CHICAGO and Tampa, Fla., Oct.19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Harmony Health Plan, Inc. ("Harmony"), a subsidiary of WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG), announced today it signed a contract with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) to administer the state's new Medicaid managed care program statewide.

Under the new contract, the state's existing Family Health Plan/Affordable Care Act (FHP/ACA) and the Integrated Care and Managed Long-term Care programs will be combined into a single integrated care delivery system and will expand statewide. The new program is expected to serve approximately 2.7 million beneficiaries in Illinois.

Harmony's healthcare delivery approach integrates a member's primary care physician, specialists, behavioral health needs and social support into a single comprehensive and coordinated care model. This care model is designed to improve preventative care and reduce preventable trips to an emergency room.

"Harmony is proud to have served Illinois families and individuals for 20 years in partnership with the state," said David Reynolds, acting president of Harmony and the north division senior vice president of WellCare. "This has provided us with an in-depth knowledge of Illinois that will allow us to continue to affect the lives of the people we serve through improved health outcomes and ensure people have the right care at the right time."

Harmony, in addition to six other plans, expects to begin services under a new four-year contract on January 1, 2018.

WellCare expects to provide additional details on its third quarter 2017 earnings call that is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, October 31, 2017.

As of June 30, 2017 WellCare and Harmony Health Plan serve approximately 196,000 members in Illinois, including 145,000 Medicaid members, 17,000 Medicare Advantage plan members and 34,000 Medicare Prescription Drug Plan members.

About WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: 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. WellCare serves approximately 4.4 million members nationwide as of June 30, 2017. For more information about WellCare, please visit the company's website at www.wellcare.com or view the company's videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/WellCareHealthPlan.

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 and membership 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 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, 2016, and the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2017, 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.