WellCare (WCG) Unit Receives Favorable Star Ratings From CMS

WellCare, an affiliate of WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:WCG) , recently received favorable ratings from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) for its Plan Year 2018 Medicare plans. CMS has given a rating of four out of five stars for the quality and service of its Medicare plans.

Florida-based WellCare covered nearly 768,000 Medicaid members as of Jun 30, 2017. The company is now enrolling more Medicare-eligible Floridians for the 2018 Medicare annual election period ending on Dec 7, 2017.

Management believes that these favorable ratings are a result of the collaborative efforts of its associates and providers who aimed at providing WellCare’s members continued access to quality care.

Medicare Advantage has significantly grown on the back of demographic changes in the U.S health insurance market. Revenues from the managed-care plans of Medicare Advantage are likely to grow as baby boomers retire. Players in the industry have been engaging in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and partnerships in order to strengthen their presence in the Medicare market.

WellCare has remained focused on revenue and margin growth of its Medicare business since 2015. To achieve these long-term targets, the company developed its 2017 bid strategy. It has also improved its marketing and sales strategies which not only boosted the overall retention rate of existing Medicare members but also drove new enrollment rate for the company’s Medicare plans.

WellCare’s continuous focus on better serving its customers has helped the stock retain shareholders’ confidence. In the last year, its shares have gained 48%, outperforming the industry’s rally of 44%.

Star Ratings are calculated every year on a scale of one to five stars (five being the highest limit), and are subject to change. CMS rates MA and Medicare prescription drug plans (PDP) on the basis of how well they provide medication coverage. A number of other factors like the quality of customer service, count and frequency of member complaints, members’ experience with drug plans and the level of safety associated with the drugs are also considered.

While assigning the ratings, CMS considers two parameters of the MA and PDPs namely, quality and performance. The MA plans are rated on the basis of their ability to take care of the members’ overall health, help them manage chronic conditions, ensure positive experiences with health plan, attain member satisfaction and offer effective customer service.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

WellCare presently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Investors interested in this space can consider stocks like Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) , MEI Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEIP) and Centene Corp (NYSE:CNC) . While Humana and MEI Pharma sport a Zacks Rank #1, Centene carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Humana’s earnings surpassed expectations in three of the last four quarters with an average beat of nearly 8.6%.

MEI Pharma’s earnings also surpassed expectations in three of the last four quarters with an average beat of nearly 67.8%.

Centene delivered positive surprises in three of the last four quarters with an average beat of 7.7%.

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