WellCare agrees to pay $80 million to settle Medicaid case

WellCare Health Plans Inc. agreed to pay $80 million to settle a Florida Medicaid fraud investigation that has embroiled the company since the fall of 2007. The settlement resolves federal and state criminal probes into allegations that WellCare defrauded Florida benefits programs for low-income adults and children of about $40 million by improperly inflating what it spent on care. WellCare administers medical benefits for about 2.5 million enrollees in government-sponsored plans in several states.