Insurers Wanting Medicaid Makes WellCare Target: Real M&A

For WellCare Health Plans Inc., Medicare and Medicaid are the ticket to a takeover.

WellCare gets almost all of its revenue from Medicare and Medicaid, which provide medical coverage to the elderly, disabled and poor. Both programs are seeing rising demand as the baby boomer population ages and state governments with tight budgets shift more patients to managed-care companies like WellCare. That makes the Tampa, Florida-based company an appealing target for larger providers such as Cigna Corp. who want to tap that growth potential, said Credit Suisse Group AG.