Medicare Flashes

Okanogan Valley Pharmacy Closing

June 12, 2018

Okanogan Valley Pharmacy is closing today and will no longer be a preferred cost-sharing pharmacy for Health Alliance Northwest members. Omak Pharmacy is the closest preferred cost-sharing pharmacy, and there are many other in-network pharmacies in the area where members can get prescriptions filled at the standard cost-sharing coverage amount.

A preferred cost-sharing pharmacy is an in-network pharmacy that has signed a contract with us to offer certain prescription drugs at a lower cost. At these pharmacies, members can get $0 Tier 1 generics and a 90-day supply of their medication for 2 copays. At standard cost-sharing pharmacies, members have a small copay for Tier 1 generics and can get a 90-day supply of their medication for 2.5 copays.

If you have clients on Companion plans who may use Okanogan Valley Pharmacy, please let them know about its closing and their other options.

If you have clients on Companion plans who may use Okanogan Pharmacy, please let them know about its closing and their other options.

New Feature Added to Your Health Alliance for Brokers

May 22, 2018

When you log in to Your Health Alliance, under the Individual tab where your clients’ names are displayed, you will now see a colored bar under each name with an amount shown.

Blue bar: Current amount due (including $0 if already paid).

Red bar: Past-due balance. The total amount due is shown, and some portion of that is at least 30 days overdue.

Select “View Invoices” for a client with a red bar to see what portion of that amount is overdue and what the current balance is.

You can filter results by:

  • No amount due
  • Current balance
  • Past-due balance

You can also export a subscriber list from your results. For example, you can filter results to see only subscribers with past-due amounts, and then export that list to an Excel file that you can save.

Please email BrokerServices@healthalliance.org with any questions.

Avoiding Data Entry Errors in Online Enrollments

May 15, 2018

Recently, we’ve seen some rejections of online applications due to errors when entering a member’s Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI).

As we shared in a previous flash, this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services replaced Health Insurance Claim Numbers, which were based on Social Security numbers (SSNs), with the new MBIs, which are randomly generated.

Please note the new format of MBIs and take extra care when entering them into our online enrollment system. Data entered incorrectly could cause delays in application processing because we no longer have SSNs to cross-reference. The most common error has been using the letter O instead of a zero. The letter O is not used in MBIs.

MBI Format
• Characters 2, 5, 8, and 9 will always be a letter.
• Characters 1, 4, 7, 10, and 11 will always be a number.
• Characters 3 and 6 can be a letter or a number.

If you have any questions, please contact your client consultant.

New Features in Health Alliance Mobile App

May 8, 2018

We’ve released updates to our mobile app for members in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. The updates allow members to:

  • Switch between their and their dependents’ plan information and ID cards
  • Set up and view vision and dental benefits on the Benefits screen if enrolled
  • Switch between plan details of vision and dental accounts
  • View the extended college network on Provider Search if using that program
  • See care coordination phone numbers in the Contact section

Our app team continues to add features and make improvements. One function currently available on the website that will be added to the mobile app soon are accumulators. These will allow members to see how much they have left to spend before meeting their deductibles or out-of-pocket maximums—and make informed decisions about when to have a treatment or procedure. Watch for an update on accumulators this summer.

Please let current and prospective members know about the app and how it makes it easier for them to use their plan. To learn more, go to HealthAlliance.org/App. If you have questions, contact your client consultant.

App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.

Sarah Bush Lincoln Contract Update

May 7, 2018

We’re happy to announce that we’ve reached an agreement with Sarah Bush Lincoln for them to remain in-network for our Medicare Advantage members, including our group Medicare Advantage plans. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Sarah Bush Lincoln without any disruption in coverage for these members.

If you have questions, please email Jeremy.Jones@healthalliance.org.