Centene Corporation And Feeding America® Partner To Launch ‘Food For Today And Food For Tomorrow’ Initiative

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) and Feeding America® announced today the launch of the 'Food for Today and Food for Tomorrow' resource development initiative, a program that will equip network food banks and Centene health plans with best practice guidelines for meeting the needs of individuals experiencing food insecurity.

The initiative leverages the screen and intervene model that screens individuals for food insecurity and connects them with access to healthy food to improve nutrition and health outcomes. In the first phase, Centene and Feeding America will create guidelines for medically tailored food boxes and for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) application assistance in health care settings.  The cross-sector partnership will enable impactful collaboration on food security initiatives within communities across the country.

"Centene is proud to partner with Feeding America to establish best practice guidelines for meeting the needs of residents identified as food insecure," said Marcela Manjarrez-Hawn, Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer for Centene. "Food insecurity is one of the most critical social determinants of health, and has a direct impact on health outcomes. These efforts support our commitment to ensuring our communities and our members have access to nutritious, healthy food."

According to Feeding America's annual Map the Meal Gap study, hunger affects people in every community in the United States. An estimated 11.1 percent of all households have been food insecure at some point during a given year,ⁱ and consequences of food insecurity are strongly associated with poor nutrition and negative health outcomes. The 'Food for Today and Food for Tomorrow' initiative will build on and expand existing food bank activities, leverage healthcare capabilities, and incorporate regional and state-level infrastructure to best meet the needs of patients identified as food insecure in health care settings.

"This partnership with Centene allows the network of food banks to partner meaningfully with the healthcare sector.  SNAP participants have better health outcomes and reduced healthcare costs. Therefore, it is critically important that we collaborate in implementing strategies to improve SNAP enrollment and offer other sources of food, such as medically tailored food boxes, within health care settings," said Dr. Hilary Seligman, senior medical advisor for Feeding America and associate professor in the department of medicine at University of California at San Francisco. "These partnerships and interventions are a key component of Feeding America's Health and Nutrition strategy."

Centene and Feeding America will pilot the completed guidelines in various communities across the country in 2020.  

About Centene Corporation

Centene Corporation, a Fortune 100 company, is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that provides a portfolio of services to government sponsored and commercial healthcare programs, focusing on under-insured and uninsured individuals. Many receive benefits provided under Medicaid, including the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), as well as Aged, Blind or Disabled (ABD), Foster Care and Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS), in addition to other state-sponsored programs, Medicare (including the Medicare prescription drug benefit commonly known as "Part D"), dual eligible programs and programs with the U.S. Department of Defense. Centene also provides healthcare services to groups and individuals delivered through commercial health plans. Centene operates local health plans and offers a range of health insurance solutions. It also contracts with other healthcare and commercial organizations to provide specialty services including behavioral health management, care management software, correctional healthcare services, dental benefits management, commercial programs, home-based primary care services, life and health management, vision benefits management, pharmacy benefits management, specialty pharmacy and telehealth services.

Centene uses its investor relations website to publish important information about the Company, including information that may be deemed material to investors. Financial and other information about Centene is routinely posted and is accessible on Centene's investor relations website, http://www.centene.com/investors.

About Feeding America

Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal initiatives, we provide meals to more than 46 million people each year. Feeding America also supports initiatives that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

ⁱ https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements, other than statements of current or historical fact, contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, forward-looking statements often use words such as "believe," "anticipate," "plan," "expect," "estimate," "intend," "seek," "target," "goal," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "can," "continue" and other similar words or expressions (and the negative thereof). Centene (the Company, our, or we) intends such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe-harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and we are including this statement for purposes of complying with these safe-harbor provisions. In particular, these statements include, without limitation, statements about our future operating or financial performance, market opportunity, growth strategy, competition, expected activities in completed and future acquisitions, including statements about the impact of our proposed acquisition (the WellCare Transaction) of WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (WellCare), our recent acquisition (the Fidelis Care Acquisition) of substantially all the assets of New York State Catholic Health Plan, Inc., d/b/a Fidelis Care New York ( Fidelis Care), investments and the adequacy of our available cash resources. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are based on numerous assumptions and assessments made by us in light of our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, business strategies, operating environments, future developments and other factors we believe appropriate. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are subject to change because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future, including economic, regulatory, competitive and other factors that may cause our or our industry's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based on information available to us on the date hereof. Except as may be otherwise required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date hereof. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, as actual results may differ materially from projections, estimates, or other forward-looking statements due to a variety of important factors, variables and events including but not limited to: the risk that regulatory or other approvals required for the WellCare Transaction may be delayed or not obtained or are obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated that could require the exertion of management's time and our resources or otherwise have an adverse effect on us; the possibility that certain conditions to the consummation of the WellCare Transaction will not be satisfied or completed on a timely basis and, accordingly, the WellCare Transaction may not be consummated on a timely basis or at all; uncertainty as to the expected financial performance of the combined company following completion of the WellCare Transaction; the possibility that the expected synergies and value creation from the WellCare Transaction will not be realized, or will not be realized within the expected time period; the exertion of management's time and the Company's resources, and other expenses incurred and business changes required, in connection with any regulatory, governmental or third party consents or approvals for the WellCare Transaction; the risk that unexpected costs will be incurred in connection with the completion and/or integration of the WellCare Transaction or that the integration of WellCare will be more difficult or time consuming than expected; the risk that potential litigation in connection with the WellCare Transaction may affect the timing or occurrence of the WellCare Transaction, cause it not to close at all, or result in significant costs of defense, indemnification and liability; unexpected costs, charges or expenses resulting from the WellCare Transaction; the possibility that competing offers will be made to acquire WellCare; the inability to retain key personnel; disruption from the announcement, pendency and/or completion of the WellCare Transaction, including potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships with customers, employees, suppliers or regulators, making it more difficult to maintain business and operational relationships; the risk that, following the WellCare Transaction, the combined company may not be able to effectively manage its expanded operations; our ability to accurately predict and effectively manage health benefits and other operating expenses and reserves; competition; membership and revenue declines or unexpected trends;  changes in healthcare practices, new technologies, and advances in medicine; increased healthcare costs; changes in economic, political or market conditions; changes in federal or state laws or regulations, including changes with respect to income tax reform or government healthcare programs as well as changes with respect to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act, collectively referred to as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and any regulations enacted thereunder that may result from changing political conditions or judicial actions, including the ultimate outcome of the District Court decision in "Texas v. United States of America" regarding the constitutionality of the ACA; rate cuts or other payment reductions or delays by governmental payors and other risks and uncertainties affecting our government businesses; our ability to adequately price products on federally facilitated and state-based Health Insurance Marketplaces; tax matters; disasters or major epidemics; the outcome of legal and regulatory proceedings; changes in expected contract start dates; provider, state, federal and other contract changes and timing of regulatory approval of contracts; the expiration, suspension, or termination of our contracts with federal or state governments (including but not limited to Medicaid, Medicare, TRICARE or other customers); the difficulty of predicting the timing or outcome of pending or future litigation or government investigations; challenges to our contract awards; cyber-attacks or other privacy or data security incidents; the possibility that the expected synergies and value creation from acquired businesses, including, without limitation, the Fidelis Care Acquisition, will not be realized, or will not be realized within the expected time period;  the exertion of management's time and our resources, and other expenses incurred and business changes required in connection with complying with the undertakings in connection with any regulatory, governmental or third party consents or approvals for acquisitions, including the Fidelis Care Acquisition; disruption caused by significant completed and pending acquisitions, including, among others, the Fidelis Care Acquisition, making it more difficult to maintain business and operational relationships; the risk that unexpected costs will be incurred in connection with the completion and/or integration of acquisition transactions, including among others, the Fidelis Care Acquisition; changes in expected closing dates, estimated purchase price and accretion for acquisitions; the risk that acquired businesses, including Fidelis Care, will not be integrated successfully; the risk that, following the Fidelis Care Acquisition, we may not be able to effectively manage our expanded operations; restrictions and limitations in connection with our indebtedness; our ability to maintain the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Star ratings and maintain or achieve improvement in other quality scores in each case that can impact revenue and future growth; availability of debt and equity financing, on terms that are favorable to us; inflation; foreign currency fluctuations; and risks and uncertainties discussed in the reports that Centene has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This list of important factors is not intended to be exhaustive. We discuss certain of these matters more fully, as well as certain other factors that may affect our business operations, financial condition and results of operations, in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the registration statement on Form S-4 filed by Centene with the SEC on May 23, 2019, our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Due to these important factors and risks, we cannot give assurances with respect to our future performance, including without limitation our ability to maintain adequate premium levels or our ability to control our future medical and selling, general and administrative costs.

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SOURCE Centene Corporation