Only Impacts Certain Medicare Enrollees
NOVEMBER 21, 2015: Members who are insured under the state Group Insurance Commission’s (GIC) Option Medicare Extension (OME) plan will have a new prescription drug provider as of January 1, 2016.
As the GIC and our Association have been reporting for nearly a year, prescription coverage under the OME plan is being transferred SilverScript. Under federal law, retirees must be given the opportunity to “Opt Out” of the new drug plan.
Only Impacts Certain Medicare Enrollees
NOVEMBER 21, 2015: Members who are insured under the state Group Insurance Commission’s (GIC) Option Medicare Extension (OME) plan will have a new prescription drug provider as of January 1, 2016.
As the GIC and our Association have been reporting for nearly a year, prescription coverage under the OME plan is being transferred SilverScript. Under federal law, retirees must be given the opportunity to “Opt Out” of the new drug plan.
Retirees should NOT OPT OUT! If you do so, you will forfeit your GIC health insurance coverage in its entirety. In other words, opting out means you will no longer have any insurance coverage.
Mass Retirees members with questions or concerns can call the Association office or any of the officers listed on your membership card.
Unless otherwise directed by the GIC, OME enrollees should take no action to self enroll in SilverScript. The GIC has automatically enrolled all OME subscribers in the new drug plan, which is run through the Medicare program as Part of Medicare Part D.
“The reason why the GIC has enrolled its OME members in SilverScripts is because the federal government subsidizes the premium costs. The GIC will receive upwards of $35 million a year to help pay for the prescription costs of OME retirees,” explains Legislative Director Shawn Duhamel. “Federal law requires that the reimbursement go toward offsetting the costs for OME plan members only. It cannot be used for any other purpose. This will result in a direct benefit for our members.”
Those retirees enrolled in Medicare Part B and are part of the OME plan administered by UniCare are the only GIC plan members impacted. If you a retiree is enrolled in another plan, then they are not involved in this change.
OME plan members will receive their new prescription drug card in late December. All prescriptions are automatically transferred to the new system.
Also there are no expected increases in prescription drug copayments with the change to Silverscript.