WellCare Text-Bombing Me
February 23, 2023 8:39 AM Subscribe
US MeFites of a certain age...Are you using WellCare for your Medicare prescription drug coverage? Are you getting text-bombed by them right now?
My wife and I are both on Medicare. She started at this time last year, and I started just this month. We both chose WellCare for our prescription coverage. For the past two weeks, we both have been getting multiple texts, purporting to be from WellCare, saying they need to "review and update" our prescription plan accounts.
The texts usually end with a request to either chat or them to call me. No other info is offered, like why, exactly, they need to "review and update" an account that just started three weeks ago?
This is very frustrating, because the texts read like every other scam text I've ever gotten. So, I've been ignoring them. On the other hand, unless WellCare's databases have been hacked, I can't see a way a scammer would have my phone number and know I'm with WellCare. But, this is 2023, so *shrugs*
Is anyone else getting these texts?
My wife and I are both on Medicare. She started at this time last year, and I started just this month. We both chose WellCare for our prescription coverage. For the past two weeks, we both have been getting multiple texts, purporting to be from WellCare, saying they need to "review and update" our prescription plan accounts.
The texts usually end with a request to either chat or them to call me. No other info is offered, like why, exactly, they need to "review and update" an account that just started three weeks ago?
This is very frustrating, because the texts read like every other scam text I've ever gotten. So, I've been ignoring them. On the other hand, unless WellCare's databases have been hacked, I can't see a way a scammer would have my phone number and know I'm with WellCare. But, this is 2023, so *shrugs*
Is anyone else getting these texts?
A good way to check things like this is to independently call to ask someone "hey, I keep getting these texts, is this a thing?" They can advise you a) if it's real, how to make them stop, or b) if it's fake.
I usually ignore the text-bomb spams too, but once or twice I've double checked to be on the safe side. I NEVER use any number or link offered by the sus text, I look up the number myself and use that. Or I log onto my Paypal account independently to verify "yep, just as I thought, there is no '$500 payment to microsoft' listed in the transactions" or whatever.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:30 AM on February 23, 2023
I usually ignore the text-bomb spams too, but once or twice I've double checked to be on the safe side. I NEVER use any number or link offered by the sus text, I look up the number myself and use that. Or I log onto my Paypal account independently to verify "yep, just as I thought, there is no '$500 payment to microsoft' listed in the transactions" or whatever.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:30 AM on February 23, 2023
Best answer: Yeah, they either want to get you on mail order or they want you to try something cheaper. What happens if you text STOP back? That is likely to unsubscribe you, if you want.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 9:52 AM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 9:52 AM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
TLDR: call WellCare and ask if they have a texting campaign going on related to medication refills. They probably do; it's the right time of year for it. But it's also a good opportunity to let them know they're going overboard and they sound like spam.
In case you're interested, here's More than you ever wanted to know about medication adherence and medicare health plans:
Medicare health plans like WellCare are rated by CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) based in part on their members' medication adherence rates. It's part of the Stars rating system, which rates medicare health plans on a scale of 1-5 stars, with 5 being the highest. That rating determines how much money WellCare will get back from the government in the form of a Quality Bonus Payment for reaching a higher stars rating (4 stars or higher). There are millions of dollars riding on that score for medicare health plans.
Right now, CMS cares a GREAT deal about how often you refill your recurring prescriptions. In the weighting system, the metric for medication adherence to say, statins, or diabetes medications, is weighted 3x the weight of the metric for getting a regularly scheduled mammogram or colonoscopy. That means a huge portion of WellCare's CMS Stars rating is wrapped up in you, and people like you, refilling their meds on time.
The biggest tool health plans have to make that work is getting people on mail order medication refills, and/or switching them to a 90 day supply of their medications rather than a 30 day supply. It makes it so either your prescriptions automatically refill, or you have fewer opportunities to MISS a refill. Which drives their medication adherence ratings up. Since people tend to become less compliant with their medications throughout the year rather than more compliant, most health plans schedule their big reminder/switchover campaigns for early in the year. (The measures usually read something like "ensure 80% of members are more than 80% compliant with this certain type of medication." Which means that once someone becomes non-compliant, it's really hard to convert them back to compliant.)
Which is why you're getting text-bombed by WellCare! Though I have to say, if you're feeling bombed, they're doing it very badly. If you have a care manager, or even a phone number for member services, I'd suggest giving them a call to A) verify that the texts are legit and B) voice your complaint that you're getting far too many of them and it's hard to tell them from spam. People in those departments will pass the complaint on to the people who make those kinds of decisions.
Signed, one of the people who make those kinds of decisions (though not for WellCare)
posted by invincible summer at 10:17 AM on February 23, 2023 [11 favorites]
In case you're interested, here's More than you ever wanted to know about medication adherence and medicare health plans:
Medicare health plans like WellCare are rated by CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) based in part on their members' medication adherence rates. It's part of the Stars rating system, which rates medicare health plans on a scale of 1-5 stars, with 5 being the highest. That rating determines how much money WellCare will get back from the government in the form of a Quality Bonus Payment for reaching a higher stars rating (4 stars or higher). There are millions of dollars riding on that score for medicare health plans.
Right now, CMS cares a GREAT deal about how often you refill your recurring prescriptions. In the weighting system, the metric for medication adherence to say, statins, or diabetes medications, is weighted 3x the weight of the metric for getting a regularly scheduled mammogram or colonoscopy. That means a huge portion of WellCare's CMS Stars rating is wrapped up in you, and people like you, refilling their meds on time.
The biggest tool health plans have to make that work is getting people on mail order medication refills, and/or switching them to a 90 day supply of their medications rather than a 30 day supply. It makes it so either your prescriptions automatically refill, or you have fewer opportunities to MISS a refill. Which drives their medication adherence ratings up. Since people tend to become less compliant with their medications throughout the year rather than more compliant, most health plans schedule their big reminder/switchover campaigns for early in the year. (The measures usually read something like "ensure 80% of members are more than 80% compliant with this certain type of medication." Which means that once someone becomes non-compliant, it's really hard to convert them back to compliant.)
Which is why you're getting text-bombed by WellCare! Though I have to say, if you're feeling bombed, they're doing it very badly. If you have a care manager, or even a phone number for member services, I'd suggest giving them a call to A) verify that the texts are legit and B) voice your complaint that you're getting far too many of them and it's hard to tell them from spam. People in those departments will pass the complaint on to the people who make those kinds of decisions.
Signed, one of the people who make those kinds of decisions (though not for WellCare)
posted by invincible summer at 10:17 AM on February 23, 2023 [11 favorites]
Under Medicare part D, the insurance company is supposed to have a pharmacist review each patient's prescriptions annually. I suspect WellCare is trying to set this up. This is called the Medication Therapy Management Program (MTMP).
posted by shiny blue object at 10:19 AM on February 23, 2023
posted by shiny blue object at 10:19 AM on February 23, 2023
Response by poster: Thanks all!
My wife contacted the person who helped us decide on WellCare in the first place. Their opinion was that the texts were just very bad marketing, and that we should try texting back “stop” and see what happens. When we did so, we immediately got a confirmation of us “unsubscribing from this campaign.” So, yeah, marketing.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:40 PM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
My wife contacted the person who helped us decide on WellCare in the first place. Their opinion was that the texts were just very bad marketing, and that we should try texting back “stop” and see what happens. When we did so, we immediately got a confirmation of us “unsubscribing from this campaign.” So, yeah, marketing.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:40 PM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
I recently switched different insurance than Kaiser for the first time in 15 years, and now that I can go to any pharmacy, so now I use the local CVS. The first time I got a prescription for something I'd likely be taking indefinitely (so, not antibiotics nor painkillers), CVS started texting/emailing/calling me on a daily basis to get that med on a 90 day mail order refill cycle. I finally had to just unsubscribe from all notifications.
So, being on Medicare, there is a decent chance you have meds your refill on an ongoing basis, and perhaps they are trying to get you setup now before someone else comes in and gets you to order from them.
posted by Back At It Again At Krispy Kreme at 9:20 AM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]