TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) announced today it received a Notice of Intent to Award (NOIA) a contract to continue serving Medicaid recipients in Georgia. The Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) presented the NOIA to WellCare and three other companies as a result of a statewide competitive bidding process to provide managed care for the Georgia Families(® )and PeachCare for Kids(®) programs. Services under the new contract are expected to begin on July 1, 2016, with an initial one-year term and five additional one-year renewal options at DCH's discretion.

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As of June 30, 2015, WellCare serves approximately 594,000 Georgia Families(® )and PeachCare for Kids(®) members, 33,500 Medicare Advantage members and 23,500 Medicare Prescription Drug Plan members in Georgia. To learn more about how we care for Georgians, watch Gloria's story at http://youtu.be/qyn-nywze04.

About WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., WellCare 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 3.8 million members nationwide as June 30, 2015. 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," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. For example, statements regarding the potential Medicaid contract with the DCH 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 related to the Medicaid awards, the approval by the Centers of Medicaid and Medicare Services of the terms of the contract, any changes to the programs or contract, WellCare's progress on top priorities such as improving health care quality and access, ensuring a competitive cost position, and delivering prudent, profitable growth, WellCare's ability to effectively estimate and manage growth, WellCare's ability to address operational challenges relating to the implementation of new contract requirements, potential reductions in Medicaid revenue, WellCare's ability to estimate and manage medical benefits expense effectively, including through its vendors and WellCare's ability to comply with the terms of the Corporate Integrity Agreement. 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, 2014, and the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2015, 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.