SAN FRANCISCO (Thomson Financial) - WellCare Health Plans Inc. late Friday said it continues to cooperate with the previously disclosed investigations by the Justice Department, the Florida Attorney General's office, and other agencies that were involved in a search of the company's headquarters last October.
WellCare said it believes the investigations are mainly focused on the relationships of the company's Florida health plans with its behavioral health subsidiary, Harmony Behavioral Health.
'The company has not been advised, however, of the full scope of the government's investigation, and the company does not know whether the investigations may expand to other areas or the extent to which such investigations might lead to fines, penalties, operating restrictions or impacts on the company's historical financial statements,' WellCare said in a statement.
Tampa, Fla.-based WellCare provides managed-care services for government-sponsored health-care programs, focusing on Medicaid and Medicare.
WellCare said it's received requests for information from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company also said it's responding to subpoenas from the State of Connecticut Attorney General's Office involving transactions between the company and its affiliated companies and their potential impact on the costs of the state's Medicaid program.
The company noted its independent investigation is ongoing and said it's unable to predict how long the review will take.
WellCare said it expects it won't be able to file its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2007, on time, and may not be in a position to file one or more of its Forms 10-Q for the quarters in 2008 on a timely basis.
The company's stock closed the regular session up 87 cents, or almost 2.1%, at $43.12. Katherine Hunt kh/gm COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
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