JULY 6, 2026
Tens of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries lost drug coverage after unnoticed premium increases on Wellcare's Value Script plan
About 140,000 Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Wellcare's Value Script prescription drug plan had their coverage terminated in April 2026 after failing to pay premiums that had increased from $0 in 2025. Beneficiaries who were dropped face a gap in coverage until at least January 2027, and because they will have gone without coverage for more than 63 days, many could face a permanent late-enrollment penalty. Wellcare's parent company, Centene Corp., declined to provide disenrollment figures; the number comes from a source with knowledge of the matter cited by KFF Health News.
Wellcare's Value Script plan became the best-selling stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plan in the country, with nearly 6 million customers, in large part by offering $0 monthly premiums. For 2026, premiums increased in 26 states and Washington, D.C. — in some cases to as little as $2.70 per month — but many members did not realize a bill now existed. After a two-month grace period that Wellcare extended to three months, roughly 140,000 beneficiaries had their coverage terminated in April, according to a source with knowledge of the matter who spoke to KFF Health News on condition of anonymity.
The coverage gap carries immediate consequences for people who depend on daily medications. Jude Pare, 77, of rural Minnesota, takes Xarelto, a blood thinner his partner Diane Tix said is essential: "He could bleed to death without it." A 90-day supply costs roughly $1,800 using a GoodRx coupon. Wayne Bennett, 74, of Durham, North Carolina, said he takes nine prescription drugs and owed just $3.60 per month — a total he said he was ready to pay immediately once he learned of it, credit card in hand, but was told by a customer service representative that his coverage had already been canceled.
A structural feature of Medicare's premium-payment system contributed to the problem. Many beneficiaries had previously arranged for premiums to be automatically deducted from their Social Security benefits. When Value Script's premium dropped to $0 in a prior year, those deductions stopped. When the premium returned in 2026, beneficiaries would have needed to actively re-enroll in automatic deduction or set up a separate payment — a step Medicare's system does not prompt automatically. "They didn't realize that when the plan was a zero premium in 2025, that stopped the Social Security premium deduction," said Rebecca Gouty, director of West Virginia's State Health Insurance Assistance Program.