Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Only Medicare customers qualify for home delivery of diabetic supplies at Walgreens

Two things are required to be eligible for the mail order home delivery service at Walgreens: 1) that the customer be testing their blood sugar on a daily basis (actually this rule is bent to include those testing just 3 times a week), and 2) the customer must have Medicare as their primary coverage. This second qualifier is curious, why would Walgreens only let Medicare customers take advantage of their home delivery service? If a customer is willing to pay all in cash, if a customer just has private insurance, if a customer has an advantage plan, or if a customer just has medicare as their secondary insurance because they're still working none of these customers are "eligible" for the home delivery service. Why not?

I took a look at Liberty Medical's FAQ and found that they do accept customers that don't have medicare as their primary insurance:

"Can I use your online form to enroll even if Medicare is not my primary insurance plan?

Yes

Is Medicare the only insurance plan Liberty accepts?

No. In addition to Medicare, Liberty accepts insurance plans. We also accept Medicaid in most states, as well as a variety of prescription drug cards."

Does Medicare, government run insurance for those over 65, pay out more per box of test strips than other insurance coverage? Is the government being taken advantage of here due to their lack of ability to keep their finger on the pulse of market conditions? Or is it simply a matter of it being easier to process medicare claims in comparison to private insurance companies where coverage may vary? Whichever the case may be, from a customer's perspective Liberty Medical is much more flexible and open to working with different coverages. Liberty also has hardship programs for those with low income and may cover the 20% copay remaining whereas Walgreens has no such program. I spoke to many Liberty customers who only had Medicare with no supplemental insurance but told me they paid nothing out of pocket. Whereas with Walgreens, they'd be paying the 20% copay. One thing Walgreens severely lacks is a benefit over the competition, their main draw is that they have a trusted name. A comparison of benefits will show no real advantage and in many cases they fall behind Liberty.

No comments:

Post a Comment