Allwell Medicare Insurance Review

Pros Explained

• Part of one of the largest Medicare Advantage insurers in the country: Allwell’s parent company, Centene, 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 aren't rated by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), one of the main health plan quality organizations. The one Allwell plan that's been rated earned just 3.0 out of 5.0, and it 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. It doesn't have options for you if all you need is supplemental prescription drug coverage.
• Disjointed online experience: Each state where Allwell operates has its own website, so it's not easy to get an overview or learn about the plan overall. You can click a state to go to its website from Allwell's homepage, but then you must enter your postal code there to shop for plans and find out which are available in your area. The process isn't 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, but 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 doesn't 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. But Allwell generally 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.

Some members can get financial rewards for healthy behaviors through My Health Pays, 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.

There's no centralized customer service number for Allwell. Each state has its own customer service and website to serve members and those who are interested in joining the plan.

Allwell members can create online accounts that they can then 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 an insurer's 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. An index of greater than 1.0 means that it has disproportionately more complaints.

Allwell itself isn't rated by NAIC, but many of its individual plans are. Allwell plans in the NAIC database had zero complaints between 2018 and 2020 in most states. Some had just one complaint in one of those years. But a few plans had significantly more complaints, particularly those in Kansas, Nevada, and Ohio.

Third-Party Ratings

Allwell itself hasn't been regularly rated, but Centene has had at least one review.

Financial Strength

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

J.D. Power

J.D. Power rated Medicare Advantage plans in 2022 based on member satisfaction with coverage and benefits, choice of providers, cost, customer service, plan information, communications, and financial aspects such as billing and payments. Allwell’s parent company, Centene, ranked last among Medicare Advantage providers. Centene scored just 773 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 they haven't reported data on which to be evaluated. Only the Arkansas Health and Wellness Health Plan is rated by NCQA at 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 they don’t have enough data to be judged. The range of the Allwell plans rated by CMS is 3.0 to 4.5 Stars, averaging 3.36.

Allwell plans earned between 2.5 and 4.5 on Part C (Medicare Advantage), with an average of 3.27. Allwell’s Part D (prescription) 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 plans. 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 have zero monthly premiums.

Allwell Medicare Boost HMO

This is an HMO example with drug coverage:

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

Allwell Medicare Simple HMO

This is an HMO example without drug coverage:

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

Allwell Medicare PPO

This PPO example includes prescription drug coverage:

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

Competition: Allwell vs. UnitedHealthcare

Allwell is connected with Centene, the sixth-largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans in the country in 2023. UnitedHealthcare is the largest provider for Medicare Advantage members nationwide, covering 29% of the market.

Allwell has a decent footprint, but UnitedHealthcare is virtually nationwide. UnitedHealthcare beats Allwell on quality as measured by the average CMS Star Ratings. UnitedHealthcare scored 808 to Centene’s 773 on the J.D. Power 2022 Medicare Advantage Study.

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

Final Verdict

Allwell is a large Medicare Advantage insurer and part of a growing network of plans in the Centene corporate family. It offers some low-priced plans that can make Medicare Advantage coverage accessible and affordable. But most Allwell plans aren't rated by the primary health plan quality organizations. This doesn’t necessarily mean the plans aren't high quality, but it indicates that the company hasn't submitted data that reflects the rigorous processes required by entities like NCQA.

Methodology

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 NCQA, the primary accrediting agency for health plans, 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.