Wellcare disorganization

[ShokWaveRider]

Noooooo........ BIG difference!

So, if someone tells you, if you do not get XYZ, you will be penalized financially, on going, ad infinitum, depending on how long you go without XYZ that it is not as good as being mandatory? you are being pushed into doing something OR you will be penalized till you die, when eventually you choose to get XYZ. Sorry in my books it is.

 

[Midpack]

I know, so it is not mandatory or you get a penalty! Same difference.

Noooooo........ BIG difference!

Actually if you do the math he/she has a fair point, it was recently shown in another thread. If you start at 65 and pay for Part D for X years, or start at 75 and pay with penalty for X-10 years, your outlay is about the same - as it should be IMO. Which is more depends on your X life expectancy. Unless you plan to self insure Rx your entire retirement, it is arguably “mandatory.”

Trying to predict when you should enter Part D can be very risky, could be horribly expensive to self insure for up to 12 months before ultimately enrolling. Not worth the risk IMO.

I’m glad it’s “mandatory” - but that’s another (sticky) subject, and NOT part of this thread.

 

[Slow But Steady]

I was also passed to Wellcare after they bought Aetna's Medicare pharmacy business. I also changed to the Wellness plan for $13.10 per month. One of the reasons I felt confortable doing so is that for three of my five prescriptions, Kroger Savings Club (which is run by GoodRX) is less expensive than the Wellcare cost.

In some cases, KrogerSC is WAY cheaper. Like $4 instead of $48. But for one med, Wellcare is way cheaper, like $4 vs. $40. I have to check every med to see how to buy it.

 

[youbet]

Unless you plan to self insure Rx your entire retirement, it is arguably “mandatory.”

I agree with the "arguably" part since "lowest cost" and "mandatory" are not at all the same thing.

The real risk of choosing the completely voluntary path of not buying Part D insurance is that early in a year you're going naked, you develop a condition that requires a very expensive drug(s).

Not having Part D makes no sense to me, but I understand it's my choice. It's not "mandatory" like, for example, having payroll taxes deducted from your regular paycheck.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Just called WellCare, I experienced none of the issues mentioned. About 2 minutes to get a Rep. Answered all of my questions. They were drug cost and CoPay Related.

 

[Peter]

So far, so good, for me, with the Aetna to Wellcare transition. New card arrived on time, and when I picked up some pills at the pharmacy they already had the new insurance details automatically updated.

 

[frank]

I was also passed to Wellcare after they bought Aetna's Medicare pharmacy business. I also changed to the Wellness plan for $13.10 per month. One of the reasons I felt confortable doing so is that for three of my five prescriptions, Kroger Savings Club (which is run by GoodRX) is less expensive than the Wellcare cost.

In some cases, KrogerSC is WAY cheaper. Like $4 instead of $48. But for one med, Wellcare is way cheaper, like $4 vs. $40. I have to check every med to see how to buy it.

How do you check the price before going to the drugstore?

 

[Dave J]

How do you check the price before going to the drugstore?

I did it 2 days ago thru the Wellcare website. It redirected me to Caremark where I could price mailorder or local drugstore. We used local Walmart and it was exact to the penney on two new prescriptions for my SO. So far, so good.

 

[Masquernom]

Reminds me of when my Megacorp implemented SAP. One switch wasn't flipped correctly. One of our plants would ship an order and SAP would just reload the order for shipment again. After a few weeks, one of our customers called up and asked us to please stop sending them drums of material!

Don't think we ever knew how much material we shipped before that was caught.

 

[Go Bolts]

Writing to the CEO was a good idea.

You can also file a complaint with CMS. They record all complaints in a Complaint Tracking Module (CTM) for each MA and PDP plan in the country.

Having performed audits of these plans on behalf of CMS, I can tell you one of the criteria used by CMS in deciding who gets audited is the CTM statistics for a particular plan compared to averages. Of course, other factors play into the decision as well, such as prior “bad behavior”, etc.

Also be aware each plan has a department called Grievances and Appeals. CMS also monitors this.

Big picture to keep in mind is all of these insurance companies are under contract with CMS and must follow voluminous rules and regulations. They all want to keep their contracts and avoid sanctions/fines (which DO happen).

 

[ShokWaveRider]

They (WC) did change their preferred Pharmacy this year without telling me at least (In Fla.). From CVS to Publix. Cost me $5.35 for prescription that was normally free, then I found out I could have for it from Publix for $0! Pays to check these things at the beginning of EVERY year, before you use the plan(s). I could not find it in any of the docs they sent me. I feel sorry for those Old Folk who really do not do such checks and assume the Status Quo. With Any US healthcare one can NEVER assume the Status Quo, very sad.

 

[grasshopper]

I always have a sigh of release when I check WC for their preferred pharmacy. Living in a rural area, I drive 50 miles one way to either a CVS or WalMart, I do have a mail set up at $0 for one script I guess I would spring for the $5 shipping if I had to.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I always have a sigh of release when I check WC for their preferred pharmacy. Living in a rural area, I drive 50 miles one way to either a CVS or WalMart, I do have a mail set up at $0 for one script I guess I would spring for the $5 shipping if I had to.

For us all are basically walking distance for us, Publix and CVS that is, WM is about 4 miles drive. The Wonders of living in coastal Fla.

 

[Dave J]

At open enrollment time, I had no problems finding out which local pharmacies were preferred and which were not in two different Wellcare plans. Just have to do a little due diligence.

 

[Sue J]

My Medicare starts on Feb 1 and I picked my part D plan from WellCare. I’m already receiving letters and the coupon payment book. Kind of old fashioned, who pays like that? I asked for the payment to be taken from my SS. I went ahead and paid it online for Feb since it was not deducted in Jan.

Then today I received another payment book! I guess I’m part of the “all things in duplicate” club.

I picked this one because my 3 Rxs are all preferred generics and should be $0. The website says I can get 90 days worth at my local preferred pharmacy. With previous Rx plans I could only get 30 days locally, for 90 days I had to use mail order.

 

[CardsFan]

DW recently signed up for WellCare to start February 1. Aside from getting two cards (same numbers), no other "all things duplicate", and no payment book. She DID sign up for auto-pay from our checking account. We'll see if that works OK.

I start Medicare in August, I might sign up for a different plan (just a few bucks a year more) to see the difference. Then we can change at open enrollment in the fall to the one we like best.