Wellcare Expands Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Offerings for 2023
Wellcare, a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC), announced today it will expand its wide range of Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) offerings during the 2023 Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) beginning Oct. 15, 2022.
"As Medicare Advantage enrollment continues to grow across the country, Wellcare is proud to offer more plans, enhanced benefits, and greater choices to help our members and those eligible for Medicare live better, healthier lives," said Rich Fisher, Chief Executive Officer of Medicare for Centene, Wellcare's parent company.
Expanded Footprint and New Plan Offerings
Today, Wellcare serves nearly 1.5 million MA members across its 36-state footprint. In 2023, Wellcare will continue to expand its geographic footprint offering plans in 209 new counties. Wellcare will also offer 48 newly designed plans, and 18 of 36 markets will offer at least one new plan. Additionally, Wellcare will continue to expand Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) offerings, including newly launched PPO-D-SNP plans in Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.
Wellcare's 2023 MA Plans:
- Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans offering access to a network of quality providers
- Local Preferred Provider Organization (LPPO) plans available for members seeking network flexibility
- Giveback plans that reduce some or all of the Part B premium available
- Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) plans give an option to members who qualify for extra help
- Wellcare Patriot plans are available for Veteran members
2023 MA Plan Highlights:
- $0 premiums on many plans
- No or low copays for primary care physician (PCP) services
- $0 COVID vaccines and continued COVID testing
- Preferred pharmacy network expansion and innovation to increase member access and cost savings
- New in 2023, Amazon is now a preferred retail pharmacy provider
- Many plans will now offer a national network of providers that accept Medicare; options vary by plan and region
- Smoking cessation, nutritional counseling, and other counseling services offered on many plans
- Flex cards available on many plans for dental, hearing, and vision benefits
- All dental allowances now fall under one singular package for comprehensive dental services
- SSBCI (Special Supplemental Benefits for the Chronically Ill) benefits to include expanded in-home fitness services1
- Healthy Food Cards with monthly allowances and $0 prescription co-pays on all tiers for almost all dually eligible members through the Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) Model
2023 Medicare PDP Highlights:
- Wellcare will offer a total of 102 PDPs nationwide
- Three plans will be offered in all 34 regions across all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
- All plans will feature a $0 Tier 1 benefit when filled at preferred pharmacies, including Amazon, Walgreens, CVS, and most grocers
- Part D Senior Savings Model (SSM), which reduces member spending on insulin, will be offered on Value Script and Value Plus products
- A new formulary design will be offered on the Value Script and Value Plus plans; it will contain medications commonly used to treat diabetes and will cost only $11 per 30-day supply
- Plans offer competitive formularies that are 89% aligned or favorable in coverage and tier placement for the top 400 drugs (96% of Medicare utilization) compared to plans nationwide
The 2023 Medicare AEP begins on October 15 and continues through December 7, 2022. Most plans purchased during AEP are effective January 1, 2023. For more details about Wellcare's Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans, visit www.WellcareNow.com.
