Following the oversight and audits of WellCare Health Plans Inc, the CMS - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services - has enforced sanctions on the company's Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans, which it has "persistently" failed to comply with.

As a result, the CMS has prohibited WellCare both from marketing its Medicare health plans, as well as from signing up new members in the plans. However, the restrictions would not affect either the current members, or WellCare's Medicaid and S-CHIP plans.

Saying that the company would extend complete cooperation in all investigations being conducted by the CMS, WellCare announced the suspension of its marketing and enrollment activities by March 7.

In a statement, WellCare's president and CEO Heath Schiesser said that for the company, the concerns expressed by CMS are a serious issue, and it would fully conform to CMS requirements, and serve the needs of members.

Since October 2007, the Tampa, Florida-based WellCare - which controls nearly 55 percent of the Medicaid market - has been under scrutiny by state and federal law enforcement authorities, and its headquarters were also raided by the regulators.

Talking about the enforced sanctions, CMS said that its data, in the past two years, shows that "WellCare's performance was substandard in numerous areas and WellCare was one of the overall worst performers among all plans."