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Medicare updates

Kroger and D-SNP plans grocery benefit update

In case you missed our email, we’d like to provide an update on the issues your clients may have faced when using their Select Health Medicare Flexible Spending Card to purchase groceries this month.

Expanded grocery options

Good news! We are expanding the list of grocery items your clients will be able to purchase as members of the Select Health Medicare + Kroger and Select Health Medicare Dual plans.

  • The expanded list of groceries for Kroger plans will take effect by February 14, 2024.
  • The expanded list of groceries for D-SNP plans will take effect by February 29, 2024.

Alcohol, tobacco, and non-food items will remain excluded.

One-time OTC and OTC + Grocery wallet extension

To give your client the opportunity to use their funds, any Over-The-Counter (OTC) and OTC + Grocery benefit funds that were not used in January will be extended until the end of February.

Your clients may save on prescriptions with Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company®

Select Health Medicare members have in-network benefits for covered medications at Cost Plus Drugs in addition to home delivery through the Intermountain Home Delivery Pharmacy and Amazon Pharmacy. The Cost Plus Drugs mission is to provide more affordable access to many common medications. Or, as Mark Cuban puts it, “No American should have to suffer or worse because they can’t afford basic prescription medications.”

Select Health Medicare covers many medications commonly taken for conditions such as acid reflux, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and more through Cost Plus Drugs and other in-network pharmacies.1

Here’s why Cost Plus Drugs might be a good fit for Select Health Medicare members:

  • Experience greater than 90% savings on hundreds of common medications at lowest-possible prices.2
  • Find cost-effective medication prices, even for prescriptions that are not covered by Select Health Medicare.
  • Access home-delivery with 90-day supplies for many medications.

Getting safe, affordable medications is easy. Start by searching for the medication on costplusdrugs.com. If the drug is available, your client can:

  1. Create an account on costplusdrugs.com—this only takes about five minutes.
  2. Ask their doctor to send a 90-day prescription to Cost Plus Drugs.
  3. Place their order and watch for their medications in the mail.

Questions? Call our Pharmacy Team at 800-538-5038.

References

1 Swiner, Nicole C., MD. “Common Medications for Older Adults.” WebMD, 2023 webmd.com/healthy-aging/common-medications-for-older-adults. Accessed 2024 Feb.

2 No author, costplusdrugs.com. Accessed 2024 Feb.

Open Enrollment Period (OEP) reminders

The Open Enrollment Period (OEP) runs from January 1 to March 31. Here are some helpful reminders from the Select Health Compliance Team.

During OEP, agents and plan sponsors may:

  • Host meetings or send mailers that focus on other enrollment periods. Examples include consumers who are aging in (who have yet to enroll in a plan), consumers who just moved to the service area, and consumers who are low income, or who have Medicaid and Medicare.
  • Mail materials or meet one-on-one when requested by the beneficiary.
  • Promote plans with a 5-star rating from Medicare.
  • During the Open Enrollment Period, agents and plan sponsors may not:
  • Send, post, or share materials with information regarding the opportunity to make an additional enrollment change, a plan switch, or reference OEP.
  • Purchase a mailing list or other means to identify qualified consumers. Contact former enrollees who selected a new plan during AEP or contact members who have elected to disenroll or are in the process of disenrolling.

Medicare Member Status Report

The Select Health Link agent portal provides helpful resources to aid agents with managing their book of business. By using the Medicare Member Status Report, you have access to application status, policy issue dates, and more.

To locate this report, hover over “Medicare” on the main landing page of Select Health Link. The report defaults to Excel, but can also be generated as a PDF. Adjust the effective date to determine the time frame of data you want to view. Using the “Status” drop-down, you can choose to view all activity or select a specific status. This report includes member contact information, ID numbers, and more.

Membership questions? Call our Agent Information Line at 800-442-5306.