WellCare: Low Income Subsidy Plans Available – Read More

/in , , /by

Low Income Subsidy Plans Available to Help with Overall Health

WellCare communication from 3/15/21:

We wanted to remind you about the Low Income Subsidy (LIS) plans for beneficiaries with limited resources who DO qualify for the “Extra Help” subsidy, but DON’T qualify for a zero-dollar, dual special needs plan.

It’s important to remember that members receiving “Extra Help” (which helps with the Part D monthly premium, annual deductible, coinsurance and copayments) can choose any Centene plan with Part D, while the LIS plans work with the government’s Low Income Subsidy program. The low income programs help with prescription needs, so our LIS plans include other benefits to address our members’ overall health, like:

  • Dental
  • Hearing
  • Vision
  • Fitness
  • And more

LIS Plans are available in the following Medicare markets:

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

If members are not already enrolled, they can apply for “Extra Help” in three ways:

  • Online at www.socialsecurity.gov/extrahelp
  • By calling Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) to apply over the phone or to request an application
  • In person at their local Social Security office

The LIS chart, available in Agent Connect and the Ascend portal, can help you understand the amount of “Extra Help” a beneficiary receives and help determine the right plan for them.

For more information, please see the 2021 Low Income Subsidy (LIS) Plans Product Video

 

If you have any questions on WellCare’s LIS plans contact your Cornerstone Senior Marketing representative. 

NEW Centene Broker Support Call Center: WellCare, Allwell, Health Net, Ascension Complete, Fidelis Care

/in , , , /by

Broker Support is Here to Help YOU!

Great News! The Broker Support Call Center is now available to all brokers with all health plans (WellCare, Allwell, Health Net, Ascension Complete, Fidelis Care).

Hours: Monday – Friday 8:00 AM – 8:00PM EST

Phone Number: 866-822-1339

Broker Support can help you with inquiries related to:

  • Onboarding – Contracting, training, and license updates
  • Formulary, Provider, and Benefit options available to assist brokers with pre-enrollment information via Ascend
  • Application & Enrollment assistance, WellCare health plan RFI assistance
  • Member Status, Broker of Record (AOR/BOR) correction
  • Broker Commissions – Finding statements, using the calculator, inquiries
  • Broker Portal (Agent Connect and Agent360) Navigation – Assignment of Commission (AOC), hierarchy changes, demographic updates, application search tool, help creating support tickets
  • Single Sign-On Portal – New broker set-up and navigation
  • Sales Materials (CustomPoint)

Most calls are resolved immediately over the phone, those that require more escalation will be forwarded to the corporate team for review, resolution, and direct follow up.

IMPORTANT! The former broker services line, 844-202-6811 will no longer assist with the above matters; however, this line will still be available for Allwell, Health Net, and Ascension Complete enrollment verification and RFI assistance.

 

WellCare OTC Benefits: Help Clients Find CVS Pharmacies

/in , , /by

WellCare communication from 1/28/21:

We wanted to share a quick reminder about how members can access a key benefit that can make a big difference, our OTC benefit. This benefit gives members $15-$720 per quarter of OTC items from a plan-approved list of products (benefit coverage varies by plan).

CVS is the OTC benefit vendor for several plans in 27 of our Medicare markets. Members in plans with the OTC benefit can order covered products by mail order (phone or online) or in-store at a participating CVS location. When shopping from the catalog, items are shipped to members’ homes at no additional cost. (Reminder: Members are limited to three (3) in- store purchases per quarter).

Find Participating CVS Locations

Here’s how members can quickly find a local participating location:

  1. Go to http://www.CVS.com/
  2. Select STORE LOCATOR, enter a zip code, and choose OTC HEALTH SOLUTIONS
  3. Participating locations in the area of the chosen store will appear

For more information on OTC, check out the following available agent resources:

WellCare/Centene: Retroactive Enrollment Reminders

/in , , /by

WellCare/Centene Announcement from 11/13/20:

Retroactive Enrollment Reminders

Did You Know – CMS monitors and scrutinizes retroactive enrollments that result from broker errors during the initial enrollment application process? As such, these largely preventable, broker-related errors present compliance issues for Centene that may have downstream effects on any related broker contractual arrangements. As a best practice, please review all applications prior to submitting to ensure accuracy of the submission.

For further insight, we have identified some of the most common mistakes to watch for:

  • Incorrect effective dates selected
  • Plan name and plan number mismatches
  • Missing required information, and no responses to our requests for information
  • Incorrect plan segment (PBP) selected by agent during agent assisted web application

If you have any further questions, please contact your Cornerstone rep.

Centene/WellCare 2021 Star Ratings

/in , , /by

Centene is pleased to announce their 2021 Star Ratings!

Each year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issues objective ratings on all Medicare Advantage and Medicare Drug plans to determine if they provide high-quality care for their members.

These quality scores include several factors, such as the clinical care members receive, their service experience, and member feedback detailing how well plans did in various categories. Using a one through five-Star rating system, CMS evaluates nearly 50 measures, broken into multiple areas.

Centene oversees CMS Star measures and performance within five chapters:

  • Admin/Ops (service quality)
  • CAHPS (member satisfaction)
  • HEDIS (clinical services)
  • HOS (Health Outcomes Survey)
  • Pharmacy (taking prescribed medications)

Achieving positive quality ratings is vital. These ratings are crucial to Centene members, brokers and partners, and their overall growth. With CMS’ increased focus on patient experience and access to care, Centene must continue to put members first and empower them to partner with their providers to make good healthcare decisions.

Downloadable 2021 Star Ratings:

  • Click here to access 2021 Star Ratings for all Centene health plans.

 

NOTE: 2021 Star Ratings are state- and product-specific.

 

Action Required: Please ensure that you are distributing the most current 2021 Star Ratings. Be sure to dispose of any outdated Star Ratings.

 

Centene/WellCare Partners with the National Council of Aging

/in , /by

Centene message from 10/27/20:

Centene Partners with the National Council on Aging (NCOA)

We are pleased to announce that Centene has joined forces with the National Council on Aging (NCOA) to help improve the health and well-being of older Americans.

This exciting, joint effort gives our valued customers and employees access to NCOA’s BenefitsCheckUp, a free and confidential web-based service that helps older adults with limited incomes identify what benefits they may qualify for and how to apply for them. Since 2001, nearly 9 million people have used BenefitsCheckUp to find programs that help them pay for prescription drugs, health care, food, housing, utilities, tax relief and more.

BenefitsCheckUp can be used on any computer or mobile device. The tool includes more than 2,500 public and private benefits programs from all 50 states. A BenefitsCheckUp screening can be completed here.

Additionally, on Oct. 28, leaders from NCOA and Centene’s WellCare of Florida plan will air a Facebook event called “Navigating Your Medicare and Medicaid Choices in 2021” to help Medicare beneficiaries select the right plan for them for 2021. This will serve as a great resource to guide your beneficiaries to information that can help them make an informed decision this Annual Enrollment Period.

To learn more about NCOA and its BenefitsCheckUp tool, please visit www.ncoa.org.

And don’t forget to check out NCOA’s Facebook page on Oct. 28 at 5:45 p.m. ET for the premiere of “Navigating Your Medicare and Medicaid Choices in 2021.”