As the final chapter of WellCare's fraud saga closes, the company is lining up new executives and trying to grow.
In May, former WellCare CEO Todd Farha was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $50,000 for Medicaid fraud dating back to 2003, with several other ringleaders receiving similar punishments.
WellCare is now expanding in states with growing Medicaid managed care programs, including Arizona and California, while securing new executives to lead the company's "next chapter," as board chairman and interim CEO David Gallitano said.
In June, the company named Kenneth Burdick as president and chief operating officer, just six months after he joined as national plan president. Burdick worked in various leadership roles at Cigna from 1980 to 1993, then spent 17 years at UnitedHealth Group, two years at Coventry and six months of 2012 as CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
"In a short period of time" at WellCare, Gallitano said in a media release, "Ken has improved operating disciplines and strengthened the consistency of our performance in many areas. By aligning operations and clinical services with our regional and state leadership, we expect to achieve an even greater level of collaboration and performance in serving our government customers, members and providers."
This year, WellCare made a number of acquisitions that are helping it expand across the country, including Medicaid plans in Missouri and South Carolina and the Windsor Health Group, which extended its Medicare Advantage plans to four states and prescription drug plans to 13 states.
For those four Medicare Advantage markets -- Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee -- WellCare has named Kelly Munson as regional president. After spending four years as operations vice president at the Massillon, Ohio-based Hometown Health, Munson came to WellCare in 2006, working in operations and regulatory compliance for the Ohio health plan.
"During her eight years with WellCare, Kelly has demonstrated the ability to build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders," said Burdick in a media release. "Kelly's strategic and proactive approach will be invaluable as we continue to integrate our acquisition of Windsor Health Group and build our business."