WellCare Names Dr. Donald Fillipps Medical Director for Children’s Medical Services Health Plan in Florida

PR Newswire

TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- WellCare of Florida, a WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) company, announced it has named Donald Fillipps, M.D., FAAP, medical director for its Children's Medical Services Health Plan (CMS Plan) contract. WellCare will operate the CMS Plan in partnership with the Florida Department of Health (DOH). Dr. Fillipps will oversee the strategy and clinical direction of medical services and quality improvement for Florida's CMS Plan members. He will report to Dr. Alan Smith, WellCare's chief medical officer for the state of Florida.

Florida's CMS Plan covers more than 60,000 medically complex children who are under the age of 21 and covered by Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). WellCare has been awarded a statewide contract for the CMS Plan.

"Dr. Fillipps is an accomplished pediatrician and healthcare executive who has advocated on behalf of children with special healthcare needs for more than three decades," said Elizabeth Miller, WellCare's state president in Florida. "His experience and mission to serve aligns closely with our mission to provide access to quality care and services to Florida's most vulnerable children."

"We are pleased Dr. Fillipps is joining WellCare," said state surgeon general and secretary Dr. Celeste Philip. "As an experienced pediatrician who has devoted his career to helping children as well as having extensive experience with the CMS Plan, he is well-suited to provide the administrative and clinical leadership necessary to achieve our program's goals."

Most recently, Dr. Fillipps served as an associate professor at the University of Florida's School of Medicine. He also previously served as medical director of Ped-I-Care, which works with Children's Medical Services (CMS) to provide a system of care to children with special healthcare needs; medical director of the CMS children's multidisciplinary assessment team; and associate chief, general pediatrics, University of Florida.

Dr. Fillipps received his bachelor's degree from Albion College in Albion, Michigan, and his medical degree from the CETEC University School of Medicine, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He is board-certified in pediatrics and completed his residency program in pediatrics at Sacred Heart Children's Hospital in Pensacola, Florida. He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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 5.5 million members nationwide as of September 1, 2018. For more information about WellCare, please visit the company's website at www.wellcare.com.