NEW HAVEN, Conn. and TAMPA, Fla., July 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) today announced that the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has awarded its Medicare Advantage health plan in Connecticut a status of Accredited.

http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnvar/20150701/227667LOGO

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 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."

"Our commitment to quality is demonstrated through this accreditation result," said Ryan Fogarty, market vice president, Connecticut. "This achievement was made possible through the hard work of our employees, who are committed to ensuring our members have access to the care they need, when they need it, through our partnerships with high-performing physicians, hospitals and community-based social service organizations."

Consumers can 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 March 31, 2016, WellCare serves approximately 7,000 Medicare Advantage members and 15,000 Medicare Prescription Drug Plan members in Connecticut.

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 3.7 million members nationwide as of March 31, 2016. 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.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150701/227667LOGO

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wellcare-receives-ncqa-quality-accreditation-for-its-medicare-advantage-health-plan-in-connecticut-300301938.html

SOURCE WellCare Health Plans, Inc.