Seniors affected by wildfires gain easier access to doctors, prescriptions

People dealing with the aftermath of North Central Washington’s recent wildfires need getting their healthcare and prescriptions to be even easier than usual.

Health Alliance Medicare enacted these medical and pharmacy changes to help its members during this time:

• Members can see providers that accept Medicare outside their network without a referral and for the same copayment or coinsurance amount as in-network providers.
• Members do not have to wait until the required amount of time has passed before refilling certain prescriptions.
• Members can request and receive the maximum extended-day supply of prescriptions if the pharmacy has the medication.

“Health Alliance Medicare members and their families need to focus on doing what they can to get back to their normal lives after suffering devastating loss and coping with severe stress,” said Health Alliance President and CEO Jeff Ingrum. “In addition to contributing to United Way to support our area’s recovery, we are focusing daily on directly supporting our affected members and employees during this difficult time.”

Health Alliance Medicare will keep its members and community informed about coverage changes related to the declared disaster, including when these changes end.

For more information, please call Health Alliance Medicare at 1-877-750-3350 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, visit HealthAllianceMedicare.org or review the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rules about services to members during officially declared disasters by visiting CMS.gov and searching for “disaster.”