Caritas partnership wins managed-care <br> contract with Commonwealth Care

BOSTON – Commonwealth Family Health Plan Inc., a partnership between the nonprofit Caritas Christi Health Care network and the Chicago-based Celtic Group Inc., will provide managed-care health coverage to qualifying low-income Massachusetts residents under a state contract that begins July 1.
“This plan confirms Caritas Christi’s commitment to bring the highest quality health care to patients in their communities,” Dr. Ralph de la Torre, Caritas’ president and CEO, said in announcing the contract yesterday afternoon. “This commitment – coupled with Celtic’s national experience and financial backing – effectively position this new health plan to deliver world-class health care to Commonwealth Care enrollees while maintaining the fiscal responsibility owed to the citizens of the commonwealth.”
The contract – for the state’s Central, Northern, Boston and Southern regions – was awarded by the Mass. Commonwealth Care Health Insurance Connector Authority, an independent state agency that helps Massachusetts residents find health care coverage. The agency also negotiates benefits and fees on behalf of low-income working adults (earning up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level) who do not qualify for Medicaid or employer-sponsored coverage. Its Commonwealth Care program currently has about 165,000 members, who under the new plan will gain access to a larger pool of primary-care physicians.
Commonwealth Family Health “leverages local provider relationships, national managed-care experience and Celtic’s expertise in the individual health insurance market,” the new partnership said.
“We are committed to provide a managed-care solution for the under-served communities in Massachusetts,” added Frederick J. Manning, CEO of the Celtic Group and executive vice president of its St. Louis-based parent company, Centene Corp. “By promoting the medical home and preventive care, our new health plan will successfully deliver better health outcomes for the citizens of Massachusetts.
“Consistent with our philosophy that quality health care is best delivered locally,” Manning added, “our health plan will hire local staff to meet the needs of the members and communities we will serve.”
Commonwealth Family Health Plan Inc. – a partnership the Celtic Group Inc. and the nonprofit Caritas Christi Health Care network – will provide managed care coverage to otherwise uninsured low-income working adults in the Bay State’s Central, Northern, Boston and Southern regions, under contract with the Mass. Commonwealth Care Health Insurance Connector Authority.
Celtic Group Inc.– a Chicago-based provider of managed care and related services – is a partner, with the Massachusetts-based nonprofit Caritas Christi Health Care network, in the new Commonwealth Family Health Plan Inc. The Celtic Group is a subsidiary of St. Louis-based health care services provider Centene Corp. (NYSE: CNC). For more information, go to www.centene.com or www.celtic-net.com.
Caritas Christi Health Care, established in 1985, is a nonprofit health care network associated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boston. It serves patients in 55 communities in eastern Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire and Rhode Island via New England’s largest community-based hospital network, and provides additional health, education and social services through the Caritas Home Care, Good Samaritan Hospice, Labouré College and Por Cristo services and the 400-doctor Caritas Physician Network. For more information, go to www.CaritasChristi.org.
The Commonwealth Care Health Insurance Connector Authority, also known as the Health Connector, is an independent agency established to help Massachusetts residents find health care coverage and avoid tax penalties. It also negotiates prices and benefits on behalf of qualifying low-income residents. For more information, visit www.MaHealthConnector.org.