WellCare Receives NCQA Quality Accreditation for Medicaid Health Plan in South Carolina

TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) today announced that the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has awarded an accreditation status of Accredited to its Medicaid health plan in South Carolina.

NCQA accreditation evaluates the quality of health care that health plans provide to their members. It is a nationally recognized evaluation that consumers can use to assess health plans. To earn accreditation, NCQA evaluates how well a health plan manages all parts of its delivery system, which covers physicians, hospitals, other providers and administrative services. NCQA accreditation provides consumers with an unprecedented ability to evaluate the quality of different health plans along a variety of important dimensions, and to make their health plan decisions based on demonstrated value rather than simply on cost.

"Achieving an Accreditation status from NCQA is a sign that a health plan is serious about quality," said Margaret E. O'Kane, president, NCQA. "It is awarded to plans whose service and clinical quality meet or exceed NCQA's rigorous requirements for consumer protection and quality improvement."

"We are honored to be recognized by NCQA for our efforts to offer our members high quality healthcare programs and services," said Kathy Warner, WellCare's state president for South Carolina. "It is very rewarding to receive an acknowledgement that reflects our associates' dedication to serving our members."

"WellCare is committed to raising the quality of care for low-income children and families in South Carolina," said Dr. Robert London, WellCare's senior medical director in the state. "To do this, we work to understand all of our members' needs to get them the right care, at the right time, at the right place. We partner with high-performing physicians and hospitals, and community organizations to accomplish this, and achieve better health outcomes and lower costs as a result. "

Consumers can easily access NCQA statuses and other information about health care quality on NCQA's website at www.ncqa.org, or by calling NCQA customer support at (888) 275-7585.

As of June 30, 2015, WellCare serves approximately 69,500 Medicaid members, 27,000 Medicare Prescription Drug Plan members and 3,000 Medicare Advantage members in South Carolina.

About NCQA

NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information for consumers, purchasers, health care providers and researchers.

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. The Company serves approximately 3.8 million members nationwide as of June 30, 2015. For more information about WellCare, please visit the Company's website at www.wellcare.com.

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SOURCE WellCare Health Plans, Inc.