Allwell Medicare Insurance Review

Pros Explained

• Part of one of the largest Medicare Advantage insurers in the country: Centene, Allwell’s parent company, has a large national presence in Medicare.
• State-specific branding and services: Each Allwell plan has its own local brand identity, website, and customer service. This state-specific approach can create a disjointed online experience if you’re trying to get a view into the company overall, but it also means that you can get just the information and service you need in your home state.
• Range of extra benefits: Extra benefits vary by state and plan, but Allwell offers a nice range of member perks. Members may get telehealth, dental, vision, and hearing benefits, as well as meal, transportation, and over-the-counter supplemental support. Allwell also offers My Health Pay, which provides financial rewards for healthy behaviors.

Cons Explained

• Relatively low ratings from health plan accreditation agency: Most Allwell plans are not rated by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), one of the main health plan quality organizations. The one Allwell plan rated earned just 3.0 out of 5.0, but scored worse on customer satisfaction measures.
• No stand-alone Prescription Drug Plans: Allwell offers only Medicare Advantage plans, including HMO, PPO, and Special Needs Plans. If all you need is supplemental prescription drug coverage, Allwell does not have options for you. 
• Disjointed online experience: Each state where Allwell operates has its own website, so it is not easy to get an overview or learn about the plan overall. From the homepage of Allwell, you can click a state to go to its website. From there, you must put in your postal code to shop for plans and see which ones are available in your area. This process is not very streamlined.

Available Plans

Medicare Advantage Plans

Allwell offers several Medicare Advantage plans, including HMO, PPO, and two kinds of Special Needs Plans: Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans (C-SNP) and Dual-eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNP). Most HMO plans limit members’ choice of providers, whereas PPO plans are more flexible.

Many Allwell HMO plans include prescription drug coverage along with extra benefits. D-SNPs offer comprehensive coverage for people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid, and C-SNPs are geared toward people with chronic conditions such as diabetes or heart disease.

Allwell does not offer Medicare Supplemental (Medigap) insurance plans or stand-alone Prescription Drug Plans.

Extra Benefits 

Allwell’s extra benefits vary by state and by plan within each state. In general, Allwell offers member perks such as:

• Dental coverage
• Vision and hearing benefits
• $0 telehealth visits
• Home-delivered meals following a hospitalization
• Over-the-counter supplemental benefits
• The Silver and Fit exercise and fitness program
• 24-hour nurse hotline
• Transportation to and from medical visits.

Through My Health Pays, some members can get financial rewards for healthy behaviors such as getting vaccinations or health screenings. Specific extra benefits differ by plan.

Customer Service

Allwell customer service is set up by state. Each Allwell plan has its own website and phone numbers for prospective and current members. Customer service for both prospective and current members is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time, seven days a week between October 1 and March 31, and Monday through Friday between April 1 and September 30. 

Allwell members can create online accounts which they can use to see benefits and claims information, request a new ID card, find a doctor, and communicate securely with the plan.

Customer Satisfaction

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) tracks complaints against insurance companies and compares the number of complaints to insurers’ market share. The resulting complaint index shows how proportionate insurers’ complaints are relative to their size. A complaint index of less than 1.0 suggests the insurer has disproportionately fewer complaints; greater than 1.0 means it has disproportionately more complaints.

Allwell itself is not rated by NAIC, but many of its individual plans are. In most states, Allwell plans in the NAIC database had zero complaints between 2018–2020; some had just one complaint in one of those years. However, a few plans had significantly more complaints, particularly plans in Kansas, Nevada, and Ohio.

Third-Party Ratings

Financial Strength

AM Best is a credit rating agency that rates insurance companies based on their financial strength. Since 2013, Centene and its related entities have not been rated by AM Best.

J.D. Power

In 2021, J.D. Power rated Medicare Advantage plans based on member satisfaction with coverage and benefits, choice of providers, cost, customer service, plan information and communications, and financial aspects like billing and payments. Centene, Allwell’s parent company, ranked last among Medicare Advantage providers. Centene scored 769 points out of 1,000, which was well below-average.

NCQA

Neither Allwell nor its parent company Centene is accredited by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), one of the main accrediting agencies for health plans. Some individual subsidiaries are in NCQA’s system but have not reported data on which to be evaluated. Only the Arkansas Health and Wellness Health Plan is rated by NCQA, earning 3 out of 5.0.

Medicare Star Ratings

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rates Medicare insurance plans on a five-point Star Rating scale. Star Ratings are based on factors such as customer satisfaction and access to care. Not every Allwell plan is rated by CMS; some are too new to be rated or don’t have enough data to be judged. Of the Allwell plans rated by CMS, the range is 3.0 to 4.5 Stars, averaging 3.36.

On Part C (Medicare Advantage), Allwell plans earned between 2.5 and 4.5, with an average of 3.27. On Part D (prescription), Allwell’s plans get between 3.0 and 4.0 Stars with an average of 3.39.

Cost

Health plan costs include premiums, deductibles, and other cost-sharing like copayments. Prices range by geography and specific plan. The best way to find specific costs is to visit the Allwell website for your state and search for plans using your zip code. Many of these plans actually have zero monthly premiums. Some examples of Allwell plans based on our searches are as follows:

HMO example with drug coverage: Allwell Medicare Boost HMO

• Monthly premium: $0
• Deductible: $0 for medical and $150 for drugs
• Annual out-of-pocket maximum: $7,550

HMO example without drug coverage: Allwell Medicare Simple HMO

• Monthly Premium: $0
• Deductible: $0
• Annual out-of-pocket maximums: $4,900

PPO example with prescription drug coverage: Allwell Medicare PPO

• Monthly Premium: $19
• Deductible: $0
• Annual out-of-pocket maximums: $9,000

Competition: Allwell vs. UnitedHealthcare

Allwell is connected with Centene, the ninth-largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans in the country. UnitedHealthcare is bigger, ranking fourth overall for Medicare Advantage members nationwide. Allwell has a decent footprint, but UnitedHealthcare is virtually nationwide. UnitedHealthcare beats Allwell on quality, as measured by the average CMS Star Ratings, and on the J.D. Power 2021 Medicare Advantage Study, where UnitedHealthcare scored 795 to Centene’s 769.

Allwell has some lower average costs on certain plans, but it also offers only Medicare Advantage options. For breadth of choice, geographical coverage, and quality, UnitedHealthcare comes out on top.

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How We Reviewed Medicare Providers

Even Medicare health plans with a national presence can vary locally in their cost, quality, and customer satisfaction. To evaluate Medicare plans, we looked at health insurance industry ratings from the primary accrediting agency for health plans, NCQA, and the Medicare Star Ratings from CMS, the regulatory agency that oversees Medicare. We included the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ complaint index and AM Best’s financial stability ratings. We also considered information from the companies on their programs and strategies.