February marked the celebration of No One Eats Alone Day, a nationwide initiative created by Beyond DifferencesTM, to promote inclusion among children and address social isolation.
ST. LOUIS, March 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- February marked the celebration of No One Eats Alone Day, a nationwide initiative created by Beyond DifferencesTM, to promote inclusion among children and address social isolation. This year, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Centene’s state-based health plans helped promote awareness and impact change locally by hosting online events to celebrate the occasion at schools and community organizations across the country.
Community representatives from Centene’s health plans partnered with schools across the country to organize virtual No One Eats Alone Day assemblies, reaching more than 23,500 children in 47 schools. The virtual assemblies taught children about social isolation and the negative impact it can have on a student’s health and academic performance. The children were given several ice-breaker topics to discuss with each other and encouraged to create new friendships with each other online.
Social isolation affects millions of students and has been identified as a precursor to bullying, self-harm and community violence. This past year, social isolation has gained additional significance in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as many students moved to virtual learning and had limited opportunities for social interaction. However, with No One Eats Alone, students have shown that if they are given the appropriate tools, they will stand up for others as empathetic and caring activists, not passive bystanders.
“As we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, promoting inclusion and addressing social isolation has never been more important to the health and well-being of all students nationwide,” said Marcela Manjarrez-Hawn, Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer for Centene. “The No One Eats Alone initiative underscores Centene’s commitment to whole health by offering resources that nurture children’s confidence and socialization, ultimately promoting their overall health and wellbeing.”
“The pandemic has given us all a taste of social isolation and the desire to feel connected,” said Laura Talmus, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Beyond Differences. “Students and teachers need No One Eats Alone -- now more than ever -- to continue changing the culture in middle schools to be a more welcoming place for everyone regardless of their differences.”
More than 1,400 schools and community organizations across the country celebrated No One Eats Alone Day. The initiative reached more than 700,000 children in all 50 states, and additional events will take place in the coming months. No One Eats Alone Day is sponsored by the Centene Charitable Foundation.
About Centene Corporation
Centene Corporation, a Fortune 50 company, is a leading multi-national healthcare enterprise that is committed to helping people live healthier lives. The Company takes a local approach – with local brands and local teams – to provide fully integrated, high-quality, and cost-effective services to government-sponsored and commercial healthcare programs, focusing on under-insured and uninsured individuals. Centene offers affordable and high-quality products to nearly 1 in 15 individuals across the nation, including Medicaid and Medicare members (including Medicare Prescription Drug Plans) as well as individuals and families served by the Health Insurance Marketplace, the TRICARE program, and individuals in correctional facilities. The Company also serves several international markets, and contracts with other healthcare and commercial organizations to provide a variety of specialty services focused on treating the whole person. Centene focuses on long-term growth and the development of its people, systems and capabilities so that it can better serve its members, providers, local communities, and government partners.
About Beyond Differences
Founded in 2010, Beyond Differences is the only student-led nonprofit organization and social justice movement dedicated to ending social isolation. The nonprofit was created to honor the life of Lili Rachel Smith, a high school freshman who passed away in her sleep from medical complications from Apert Syndrome, a cranial-facial anomaly. Lili experienced social isolation in middle school and its effects, including lack of self-esteem, loss of social skills needed to keep up with her peers, and even academic decline. Beyond Differences believes that students can lead the way to make meaningful change in their community so that all teens feel included, valued and accepted by their peers. The organization created three positive prevention initiatives: Know Your Classmates™, No One Eats Alone® and Be Kind Online™ with curriculum and activities. More than 6,500 schools nationwide use its materials, which are provided free of charge. For more information, visit beyonddifferences.org.
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 of Magellan Health (the Magellan Acquisition), our recently completed acquisition of WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (WellCare and such acquisition, the WellCare Acquisition), other recent and future acquisitions, 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 impact of COVID-19 on global markets, economic conditions, the healthcare industry and our results of operations and the response by governments and other third parties; the risk that regulatory or other approvals required for the Magellan Acquisition 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 risk that Magellan Health’s stockholders do not approve the definitive merger agreement; the possibility that certain conditions to the consummation of the Magellan Acquisition will not be satisfied or completed on a timely basis and accordingly the Magellan Acquisition 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 Magellan Acquisition; the possibility that the expected synergies and value creation from the Magellan Acquisition or the WellCare Acquisition will not be realized, or will not be realized within the applicable expected time periods; 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 the Magellan Acquisition; the risk that unexpected costs will be incurred in connection with the completion and/or integration of the Magellan Acquisition or that the integration of Magellan Health will be more difficult or time consuming than expected; the risk that potential litigation in connection with the Magellan Acquisition may affect the timing or occurrence of the Magellan Acquisition or result in significant costs of defense, indemnification and liability; a downgrade of the credit rating of our indebtedness, which could give rise to an obligation to redeem existing indebtedness; the possibility that competing offers will be made to acquire Magellan Health; the inability to retain key personnel; disruption from the announcement, pendency and/or completion and/or integration of the Magellan Acquisition or the integration of the WellCare Acquisition, or similar risks from other acquisitions we may announce or complete from time to time, 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; our ability to accurately predict and effectively manage health benefits and other operating expenses and reserves, including fluctuations in medical utilization rates due to the impact of COVID-19; 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 (ACA) and the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act, collectively referred to as the ACA and any regulations enacted thereunder that may result from changing political conditions, the new administration or judicial actions, including the ultimate outcome 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; tax matters; disasters or major epidemics; changes in expected contract start dates; provider, state, federal, foreign 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 legal and regulatory proceedings 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 businesses we may acquire in the future, 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; disruption caused by significant completed and pending acquisitions 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; changes in expected closing dates, estimated purchase price and accretion for acquisitions; the risk that acquired businesses will not be integrated successfully; restrictions and limitations in connection with our indebtedness; our ability to maintain or achieve improvement in 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 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.
View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/centene-and-its-health-plans-raise-awareness-of-childhood-social-isolation-through-no-one-eats-alone-day-301237271.html
SOURCE Centene Corporation
Company Codes: NYSE:CNC
