Former WellCare Health Plans worker pleads guilty to Medicaid fraud

The U.S. Department of Justice has unveiled a guilty plea by a former employee of WellCare Health Plans Inc. who admitted he conspired to defraud the Florida Medicaid program out of more than $20 million. Gregory West pleaded guilty in December, but the plea was sealed, Robert O'Neill, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, said in a release. West faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, the release said.