U.S. — Wellcare terminated prescription drug coverage for approximately 140,000 Medicare beneficiaries in April 2026 after they failed to pay premium increases for the company's Value Script drug plan. Beneficiaries are left without prescription drug coverage until the next open enrollment period.

Centene Corp. is Wellcare's parent company. Sarah Baiocchi, senior vice president for specialty and prescription drug plans at Centene, said, "Some members in our Value Script plan experienced a premium for the first time, or for the first time in several years." Baiocchi added that all Value Script members received a CMS-required annual notice of changes in September before the premium increases took effect. She said Centene informed members about 2026 premium changes through phone calls, text messages, regular mail, or email.

Jude Pare, 77, and Diane Tix received a letter from Wellcare in April stating Pare's coverage was terminated due to three months of unpaid premiums totaling $28.80. Medicare rules prevent Pare from re-enrolling in a plan until the fall for coverage that would begin in 2027. Similarly, Wayne Bennett, 74, discovered in May that his Value Script plan was canceled over $3.60 monthly premiums. Bennett said, "Medicare should be doing something about this so that we can go ahead and get coverage now."

Medicare drug plans can drop customers who do not pay premiums after a two-month grace period, which Wellcare extended to three months. In 26 states and Washington, D.C., some Value Script members who previously had no premium experienced increases in 2026. Christopher Krepich, a spokesperson for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said, "The agency does not publicly provide plan-specific disenrollment figures or state-level breakdowns related to the non-payment of premiums." Krepich noted that individuals dropped from Medicare drug plans who have gone without coverage for at least 63 days could face a permanent late-enrollment penalty that increases annually.

Wellcare's Value Script is the bestselling stand-alone prescription drug plan in Medicare, serving nearly 6 million customers across the U.S., according to government data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that nearly 90% of Medicare beneficiaries use one or more prescription drugs, and almost half live with four or more chronic health conditions. Medicare drug coverage was added by Congress in 2003 and is administered by commercial insurance companies. A KFF Health News analysis found that thousands of people in 32 states and Washington, D.C., enrolled in zero-premium drug plans from various companies may face similar losses of coverage in 2027 if their premiums increase and they do not realize it.