What's up with WellCare (WellCare Medicare Rx Select (PDP) )?
edit/add - looking at this, I just noticed my current plan is named "WellCare Medicare Rx Select (PDP)", but my comparison document with the price increase refers to "WellCare Medicare Rx Value Plus (PDP)". OK, it does reference this plan name current/new on the front page, so I guess it is just a name change, not an attempt to move me from one plan to another?
-ERD50
When Wellcare's website is updated with the new for-2022, you should look it all over, all of their plans. They usually have a grid and can probably rule out many of their plans right away, and find one suitable.
I'm in Wellcare
Wellness Rx, and the 2020 cost was $13.x a month for my area. Last fall, when they announced the 2021 costs, it went to $17.90. I didn't do anything, left it ride, but figured in fall of 2021 I better look at switching for 2022, expecting that there would be a big raise... But a couple days ago in the mail, I got the "Important Plan Information" packet from them. They are "changing" the name from Wellcare Wellness Rx, to
Wellcare Value Script. Previously, there was a Wellcare Value Script, but I rejected it for not being very "value".
But wait, there's more
My cost will drop from $17.90/mo. to $12.90/mo.!
So far, the only change I see in the mailed info is that the Tier 3 Preferred Brand Drugs using a preferred cost sharing (via their preferred pharmacies, won't find out who THEY all are till after the start of open enrollment) added $2 to the existing $40 copay, Tier 4 Non-Preferred Drugs with preferred cost sharing added 1%, will be 47% instead of 46%. The start of the coverage gap increases from $4,130 to $4,430 of total drug costs.
For changes in the Coverage Gap stage, and the following Catastrophic Coverage Stages, it says to look at Chapter 4, Sections 6 and 7, of my Evidence of Coverage. I suspect that will be a new document, I'll need to see it when it's out. So when all info is available, I need to look at that, plus who the preferred pharmacies will be (last time they dropped most free-standing pharmacies like CVS, and added grocery-store pharmacies, I think these things are renegotiated each year). And I guess I should guess at a few drugs and run them through the Medicare.gov site.
Last fall, I had to be patient, Wellcare did not have it all set up to where I had enough info to make a decision, until maybe week 3 of Open Enrollment on Medicare.gov. Some of the results in the interim were wild and nonsensical! I was using Shingrix as an example then, it was $800 a dose and pharmacies were all messed up in the beginning! It settled down in time to who the new pharmacies would be for preferred, and Shingrix dropped to ~$165 a dose!
So my suggestion on Open Enrollment is... Make no decisions and make no sign-ups in the beginning of the period!