WellCare Receives NCQA Quality Accreditation for Its Medicare Advantage Plan in California

CYPRESS, Calif. and TAMPA, Fla., July 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) ("WellCare") announced the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has awarded accreditation status to its Medicare Advantage plan in California.

NCQA accreditation evaluates the quality of healthcare that health plans provide to their members. It is a nationally recognized evaluation 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 on a variety of important criteria 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."

"At WellCare, we're committed to ensuring our members have access to high-quality care and services," said Karen M. Johnson, WellCare's regional president, Medicare west division. "This achievement was made possible through the hard work and dedication of our associates, our providers and our partners who, day in and day out, help our members live better, healthier lives."

Consumers can access NCQA statuses and other information about healthcare quality on NCQA's website at www.ncqa.org or by calling NCQA customer support at 1-888-275-7585.

WellCare of California, Inc., previously known as Easy Choice Health Plan, Inc., serves approximately 33,000 Medicare Advantage and 137,000 Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) members in California as of March 31, 2019.

About NCQA
NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving healthcare quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of healthcare organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA's website (www.ncqa.org) contains information to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.

About WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) focuses primarily on providing government-sponsored managed care services to families, children, seniors and individuals with complex medical needs primarily through Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans, as well as individuals in the Health Insurance Marketplace. WellCare serves approximately 6.3 million members nationwide as of March 31, 2019. For more information about WellCare, please visit the company's website at www.wellcare.com.

WellCare Health Plans, Inc., is an HMO, PPO, PFFS plan with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in our plans depends on contract renewal.

SOURCE WellCare Health Plans, Inc.