Early life
Jeff's father, Joe McWaters worked as a plant superintendent in a car radiator plant, and his mother Patsy McWaters worked as a school teacher and medical office manager. McWaters attended Paducah Tilghman High School and continued on to Paducah Community College before he enrolled at the University of Kentucky, where he pursued a degree in accounting. He joined theBusiness career
Ernst & Young
In the Spring of 1979, McWaters graduated with a B.S. in accounting from the University of Kentucky, and accepted a job at Ernst & Young Nashville.CIGNA
In 1980, he joined CIGNA subsidiary 'Hospital Affiliates International', a company that acquired managed care health plans. He opened the first Dallas, Texas office for CIGNA Health Plans.Options Mental Health
In 1986, Jeff McWaters co-founded the Norfolk-based company Options Mental Health. Options Mental Health customized plans and programs for mental health and substance abuse recovery for National Employers, State Government, and TricareAmerigroup Corporation
Jeff McWaters started Americaid Community Care (Amerigroup) in 1994 inStarting out
Amerigroup membership exceeded 100,000 in 1998. New Jersey membership increased as a result of Amerigroup's first acquisition; the Medicaid business from Oxford Health Plans. This was the first of about 14 future acquisitions Amerigroup would make. Following the purchase of Oxford Health Plan's Medicaid business, Amerigroup turned its first profit of about $3.5 million. In 1999, Amerigroup acquired Prudential HealthCare's Medicaid business, and in July of the same year opened an additional location in Dallas, where 34,000 members were added. Memberships reached 268,000 by the end of 1999, and the company more than doubled in size the following years.Initial public offering and development of new programs
In 2000, Amerigroup launched a range of new programs, including Amerikids in Dallas and Houston, as well as Ameriplus in New Jersey. In the same year Amerigroup saw memberships increase across its programs, resulting in a total revenue of $646.4 million and a net income of $26 million. In the spring of 2000, Amerigroup filed for anLawsuits and challenges
In July 2005, Amerigroup's annual revenue had grown to $1.8 billion with a stock price of $46.92 per share. In September 2005, Amerigroup missed the analysts' estimated earnings for the second quarter, meaning they would fall short in the third quarter and have to report a loss of $2.3 million as opposed to a profit of $24.7 million. The Medicaid managed-care market in Fort Worth, Texas had slowly diminished to Amerigroup and one other competitor. When the competitor's plan failed, Amerigroup took on its remaining members at the state's request. The patients in question needed more care than Amerigroup had expected, and the company had updated its computer processing systems which resulted in expenses hitting the books earlier than anticipated. On September 28, 2005, Amerigroup announced its loss, and by October 27, the company's stock price had dropped to $15.45 per share. The company performed better in the fourth quarter of 2005, but it took several months for Amerigroup to fully recover. In 2007, Amerigroup settled a lawsuit brought on by shareholders who claimed to have been defrauded following the company's drop in share price as a result of the money lost in the third quarter of 2005. Amerigroup paid $5 million in settlements. Amerigroup became subject to a second lawsuit lead by an ex-employee along with the state of Illinois and the Federal Government. The False Claims Act stated that Amerigroup had defrauded the government by discouraging women with advanced pregnancies as well as other high-cost patients from signing up for care under Amerigroup. However, Amerigroup argued that the state had previously agreed it was unwise for these patients to switch care provider. A federal jury ruled against the company, and Amerigroup settled the lawsuit in 2008 with $225 million.The National Advisory Board and further expansion
Amerigroup formed the National Advisory Board (NAB) in 2007 which focused on healthcare services for seniors and people with disabilities. The board was made up of community advocates, national healthcare experts, and stakeholder groups. In 2007 Amerigroup entered the Tennessee market with programs intended to cover two different groups of low-income people. The twofold Medicaid programs were created to serve mothers and children through the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program and people with long-term illnesses and disabilities eligible for Medicaid's Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. The Tennessee subsidiary became the 10th state in which Amerigroup operated. The following fall, Amerigroup also acquired business in South Carolina, covering those eligible for certain Medicaid services.McWaters retires as CEO
In August 2007, at age 51, Jeff McWaters retired as CEO of Amerigroup, but remained chairman of the board for one year. On July 9, 2007, a press release was published announcing the transition and change of upper management as founder and CEO Jeff McWaters retired from his role after 13 years. During a conference call conducted the same day, McWaters and his staff answered questions from analysts regarding the timing of his retirement as well as Amerigroup's future. McWaters responded with a recap of the company's achievements over the last 13 years, saying ''"''The issue we set out to address at the state level in 1994—access, quality, and cost containment remain the central challenges facing our nation's overall healthcare system. The time is now for those of us in healthcare to take some lessons we've learned in Medicaid and apply them in a broad, more comprehensive way, ensuring access for all Americans." In January 2005, ''Forbes'' magazine placed Amerigroup on its list of ''America's Best Managed Companies''. In 2010, Amerigroup broke into the ''Fortune 500'' list, debuting at number 404. Amerigroup created over 4,600 jobs nationwide with 1,700 positions located in Virginia Beach. Amerigroup was recognized as one of the ''World's Most Admired Companies'' by Fortune Magazine in 2011.Sale of Amerigroup
In July 2012, WellPoint (now Elevance Health), a commercial health insurance company acquired Amerigroup for approximately $4.9 billion. Upon completion of the transaction, Amerigroup operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Elevance Health.Political career
Overview
McWaters ran to replace outgoing Republican and sheriff-elect Ken Stolle in a special election held on January 13, 2010. He defeated city councilwoman Rosemary Wilson in the Republican primary, and Democrat Bill Fleming in the general election with 8,051 votes to Fleming's 2,184. He took office in 2010 with a focus on healthcare, military, education, and transportation in the Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads area. In 2004, McWaters served on the Presidential Healthcare Transition team for the Bush administration. During that time, he pushed for coverage of prescription drugs for seniors under Medicare.2011 re-election
Senator McWaters was re-elected in November, 2011. His campaign focused on issues like ensuring in-state tuition eligibility for enlisted military who had applied for Virginia residency. McWaters served on several committees, including Commerce and Labor, Transportation, Education and Health, as well as the Privileges and Elections committee. Along with ten other legislative members, McWaters served alongside Governor McDonnell's transportation work group.Retirement from the Virginia Senate
In February 2015, after six years in office, Senator McWaters announced he would not seek re-election the following November. McWaters did not rule out the possibility of seeking another elected post in the future.Political positions
Jobs and the Economy McWaters campaigns focused on local job creation 6and is outspoken about his opposition to outsourcing. Healthcare Healthcare was a focus of McWaters 2010 campaign for senate, 6during which he pushed for a competitive bidding process for Medicaid. Taxes and Spending McWaters believes in a smaller government and a robust private sector. 6 Transportation and education were also main focuses of McWaters 2010 campaign for senate. 6Trinity Church
In 2007, Jeff and Cindy McWaters helped found Trinity Church in Virginia Beach. Trinity Church operates five campuses; Virginia Beach Oceanfront, Princess Ann Road, Virginia Beach Town Center, Downtown Norfolk inside Nauticus and Stuttgart (Germany).Writings by McWaters
*Awards and honors
* In 2003, McWaters was inducted into the University of Kentucky's Gatton College of Business and Economics Hall of Fame. * In November 2018, McWaters was inducted into the Old Dominion Strome Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame at Old Dominion University.See also
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McWaters, Jeff 1956 births American chief executives Kentucky Wildcats football players Living people Paducah Tilghman High School alumni People from Paducah, Kentucky Politicians from Virginia Beach, Virginia Republican Party Virginia state senators University of Kentucky alumni Ernst & Young people