FAQs
When will I get my medical/prescription cards?
FAQs FOR THE 2012 PRESCRIPTION DRUG PROGRAM
Who will my Prescription provider be in January?
Medco Health will continue as our Pharmacy Benefits
Manager going into the 2012 plan year.
Why did the City of Mesa decide to stay with Medco?
The City of Mesa strives to provide its participants
with a quality and cost effective prescription program that provides value
to everyone involved. The decision to stay with our current Pharmacy
Benefits Manager (PBM), Medco, was made because the provider we originally
selected, Informed Rx, would not commit to several conditions in their
contract that we believed were in the best interest of our members. One
major area of concern was their refusal to commit to a delivery time for
prescriptions of less than fourteen days from the date the prescription was
received, although the City was promised a 5 to 7 day delivery time during
the proposal evaluation process.
During the final negotiation stage, we decided that remaining with Medco
would provide the least disruption for our members.
Does this change also apply to those who have selected the Out-of-State
plan (retirees or dependents who live outside of Arizona)?
Yes, Medco will be the pharmacy benefit manager for the City of Mesa for both in-state and out-of-state members. Out-of-state members will receive a medical/prescription card that will come from Blue Cross Blue Shield. Every effort will be made to get ID cards to the out-of-state members by January 1, but if they are not received by that date, you should:
1. Use your current card for the pharmacy only.
2.
Request medical providers to call BCBS at
866-288-5788 to verify out-of-state coverage and for instructions on
submitting claims.
Will I still get a new member ID card in 2012? If so, when?
You may continue to use your current
medical/prescription card until you receive your new medical/prescription
card from Medco in the mail. You will receive your new card by January 16. If you need a replacement card in the
meantime, you can print a temporary prescription card at medco.com or call
Medco. Temporary replacement medical cards will be available from Benefits
beginning December 28. Note for
out-of-state members: you will receive a medical/prescription card that
will come from Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Every effort will be made to get ID cards to the out-of-state members
by January 1, but if they are not received by that date, you should:
1. Use your current card for the pharmacy only.
2.
Request medical providers to call BCBS at 866-288-5788 to verify
out-of-state coverage and for instructions on submitting claims.
What will happen to my current prescriptions and mail order?
Will my prescriptions automatically
refill after January 1 now that the City is staying with Medco?
You will be able to continue using your Medco plan
without interruption. You will be able to refill your mail order
prescriptions or fill prescriptions at any Medco participating retail
pharmacy (subject to the retail penalty after 3 fills) just as you always
have. If you are enrolled in the automatic refill program, your refills will
continue to be sent to you. You will need to contact your physicians office
for a new prescription if you have no remaining refills or your prescription
has expired.
Since the City is moving back to Medco, will the changes to the
deductible, coinsurance
and
copays outlined in the work book in Whats New for 2012 still apply?
Medco has agreed to honor its proposal for 2012,
including the cost savings, which are about the same as those offered by
Informed Rx. This means that the changes to the members cost outlined in
the 2012 workbook will still apply; however, they will not be effective
until January 16, 2012.
Will Medco let you get three months of generic prescriptions at a retail
pharmacy and only pay for 2 months copay/coinsurance? If so, when will it
start?
You will be able to get three months of generic
prescriptions at the retail pharmacy for two months copay from Medco
effective February 1, 2012.
Are there any changes to Medcos pharmacy network or formulary effective
January 2012?
There are no significant changes to either the Medco
network or the formulary for 2012 at this point. However, formulary changes
do occur throughout the year, and we expect there will be some in 2012 as a
result of several brand names going generic throughout the year.
You can visit the Medco website,
www.medco.com, for the most current formulary listing.
Ive heard that Express Scripts and Medco are two of the countrys
largest pharmacy benefit managers and that they will be merging. Is this
going to happen soon?
During our evaluation process, Medco and Express
Scripts were two of our top three choices when Express Scripts announced
that they were purchasing Medco. The merger is to be finalized in 2012. We
will be following these developments closely to determine the effect that
they will have on our members; however, all indications are that this merger
will result in improvements in services for us.
Who do I contact if I have questions about my pharmacy benefit?
Please contact Medco Customer Care toll-free at the
number listed on your medical/prescription benefit member ID card for
questions pertaining to your pharmacy benefit:
Special toll-free line for
City of Mesa members
1-877-476-9270
Medco Member Services
Medco website
1-800-711-0917
www.medco.com
For Benefit Design and eligibility
questions contact the Employee Benefits Office:
Phone: 480-644-2299 Option 2
Email: Benefit.Info@mesaaz.gov
*************************************************
Who is our vision provider?
Our vision provider is currently Vision Service Plan (VSP). You can located a provider by visiting their website at www.vsp.com or by contacting their customer service at 1-800-877-7195.
I'm a retiree and would like to keep abreast of retiree issues, what resources are available?
Of course, this Benefits site contains
a lot of information that pertains
to retirees, but also consider membership in RECOM (Retired Employees City
of Mesa) a group of close to 700 retirees, spouses/partners. To become a
member or learn more go to www.recomaz.org.
Is Open Enrollment the only time I can make changes to my healthcare benefits?
No. You can make changes to your benefits when you experience a
qualifying change in family status, called a "qualifying event." Situations
considered to be qualifying are marriage, divorce, birth of or adoption of
child, or involuntary loss of healthcare coverage. Members have 31 days from the event date to enroll
dependent(s) to the insurance plans.
What happens if I fail to add my dependent to my insurance within the 31-day timeframe?
If a dependent is not added within the 31-day timeframe, the member must wait until the following open enrollment period
enroll the dependent, and no
exceptions are made.
Need more information about your Benefits ID card? Click here.