Transition of Care Policy

If your drug is not on the Drug List or is restricted, here are things you can do:

• You may be able to get a temporary supply of the drug (only members in certain situations can get a temporary supply). This will give you and your provider time to change to another drug or to file a request to have the drug covered.
• You can change to another drug.
• You can request an exception and ask the plan to cover the drug or remove restrictions from the drug.

You may be able to get a temporary supply

Under certain circumstances, the plan must offer a temporary supply of a drug to you when your drug is not on the Drug List or when it is restricted in some way. Doing this gives you time to talk with your provider about the change in coverage and figure out what to do.

To be eligible for a temporary supply, you must meet the two requirements below:

1. The change to your drug coverage must be one of the following types of changes:
   1. The drug you have been taking is no longer on the plan’s Drug List.
   2. or — the drug you have been taking is now restricted in some way (Section 4 in this chapter tells about restrictions).
2. You must be in one of the situations described below:
   1. For those members who are new or who were in the plan last year, we will cover a temporary supply of your drug during the first 90 days of your membership in the plan if you were new and during the first 90 days of the calendar year if you were in the plan last year. This temporary supply will be for a maximum of 30-day supply. If your prescription is written for fewer days, we will allow multiple fills to provide up to a maximum of 30-day of medication. The prescription must be filled at a network pharmacy. (Please note that the long-term care pharmacy may provide the drug in smaller amounts at a time to prevent waste.)
   2. For those members who have been in the plan for more than 90 days and reside in a long-term care (LTC) facility and need a supply right away: We will cover one 31-day supply of a particular drug, or less if your prescription is written for fewer days. This is in addition to the above temporary supply situation.
   3. For current members of the plan who are moving from a long-term care (LTC) facility, or a hospital stay to home and need a transition supply right away: We will cover one 30-day supply, or less if your prescription is written for fewer days (in which case we will allow multiple fills to provide up to a total of a 30-day supply of medication).
   4. For current members of the plan who are moving from home, or a hospital stay to a long-term care (LTC) facility and need a transition supply right away: We will cover one 31-day supply, or less if your prescription is written for fewer days (in which case we will allow multiple fills to provide up to a total of a 31-day supply of medication).

To ask for a temporary supply, call Customer Service (phone numbers are printed on the back cover of this booklet).

During the time when you are getting a temporary supply of a drug, you should talk with your provider to decide what to do when your temporary supply runs out. You can either switch to a different drug covered by the plan or ask the plan to make an exception for you and cover your current drug. The sections below tell you more about these options.

You can change to another drug

Start by talking with your provider. Perhaps there is a different drug covered by the plan that might work just as well for you. You can call Customer Service to ask for a list of covered drugs that treat the same medical condition. This list can help your provider find a covered drug that might work for you. (Phone numbers for Customer Service are printed on the back cover of this booklet.)

You can ask for an exception

You and your provider can ask the plan to make an exception for you and cover the drug in the way you would like it to be covered. If your provider says that you have medical reasons that justify asking us for an exception, your provider can help you request an exception to the rule.

For example, you can ask the plan to cover a drug even though it is not on the plan’s Drug List. Or you can ask the plan to make an exception and cover the drug without restrictions.

If you are a current member and a drug you are taking will be removed from the formulary or restricted in some way for next year, we will allow you to request a formulary exception in advance for next year. We will tell you about any change in the coverage for your drug for next year. You can ask for an exception before next year and we will give you an answer within 72 hours after we receive your request (or your prescriber’s supporting statement). If we approve your request, we will authorize the coverage before the change takes effect.

If you and your provider want to ask for an exception, Chapter 9, Section 6.4 tells what to do. It explains the procedures and deadlines that have been set by Medicare to make sure your request is handled promptly and fairly.