Frequently Asked Questions
NURSE HOTLINE
How does the nurse hotline work?
For urgent questions, members may call the toll-free number listed on the membership card to speak with a registered nurse 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
PHYSICIAN VISIT / HOSPITAL BENEFIT
How does the Physician Visit / Hospital Network nurse hotline work?
The Physician Visit / Hospital Network is effective and easy to use. To locate providers in your area, call the toll-free number located on your membership card. Present your card at the provider's office and receive immediate savings on services provided. Since there are no age or medical history restrictions, anyone can use this benefit.
For hospital visits, members MUST pre-register before any procedure(s) are performed (or within 48 hours of emergency room admittance.) A representative will coordinate all of the resources and negotiate with the provider/facility for a contracted savings.
DENTAL BENEFIT
Q. How does the dental plan work?
A. Participating dental providers are listed in the membership fulfillment kit; members may also call the toll-free number located on the back of the membership card Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday, 8a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time. When calling to schedule an appointment the member should identify him/herself as a member of the Aetna Dental Access program. To receive the discount the member must present the membership card and pay the total bill at the time of service.
Q. Is there a limit to the number of times the card can be used?
A. No. Members and their families may take advantage of the savings any time throughout the year. Members may also change dentists within the network whenever they choose.
Q. Can this discount be combined with dental insurance?
A. In many cases, members may use both. Simply visit a participating dental provider, pay the bill and submit it to the insurance company. The net out-of-pocket cost will be lower because the insurance company should reimburse the member their plan allotted percentage of the reduced bill.
Q. Is there someone that can answer questions about the card and services offered?
A. Yes. Simply call the toll-free number located on the back of the membership card Monday through Friday, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Central and Saturday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Central. A member service representative is standing by to answer any questions.
VISION BENEFIT
Q. What is the vision benefit? Does it include eye examinations? Does it include contact lenses?
A. The vision benefit offers 20% to 60% discounts on eyewear and eye care at more than 12,000 optical locations throughout the United States. Providers include national optical chains such as LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, EyeMasters, JCPenny, and Sears as well as regional chains and thousands of independent practitioners. Often many participating locations offer discounts of 10% on eye exams for both eye glasses and contact lenses. Additionally, the ophthalmology portion of the network offers 10% to 30% discounts on eye exams and surgical procedures, including the popular laser surgeries in select markets.
On average, members receive a 20% discount on replacement contact lenses (excluding disposable lenses) and non-prescription sunglasses at retail locations. Members may elect to use the mail order service to purchase replacement contact lenses (including disposables) at a 10% to 40% discount.
Q. Is the Coast To Coast (CTC) discount plan insurance?
A. No. While an insured plan is available, CTC is a discount eyewear and eye care program. There are no claim forms or reimbursement procedures. The participating retail optical locations will give the discount at the time of the purchase.
Q. Can members use CTC if they already have vision insurance?
A. Yes. In most cases CTC can be utilized to eliminate or reduce the deductible. Once the insurance benefit has been exhausted, members may use their discount to buy additional pairs of glasses or contacts.
Q. Is there a limit on the number of times the benefit can be used?
A. There is no limit on the number of times the member or family member can take advantage of the savings provided by CTC.
Q. Does the CTC discount plan cover family members?
A. It covers the member, their spouse and all legal dependents.
Q. What is covered with CTC membership?
A. Prescription glasses, non-prescription & prescription sunglasses, and contact lenses are discounted 20% to 60% in most cases. Eye exams and surgery are discounted 10% to 30% where available.
Q. Why does the discount vary from 10% to 60%?
A. Many variables go into the calculation of the discount such as market demographics, location, hours of operation, one-hour service capability and level of retail mark-up.
Example - a chain provider in a major metropolitan mall, open seven days a week, 10 hours a day with an on-site lab, will more than likely have a different mark-up than an independent practitioner in a rural community. However, members will pay almost exactly the same price for the exact same materials regardless of where the purchase is made. Only the percentage of discount off retail may vary.
Q. Can members receive the discount at any optical location?
A. No. Members must go to an optical location that is contracted with Coast to Coast Vision to receive a discount. Our providers include national, regional and local chains as well as thousands of independent professionals.
Q. What is a dispensing fee?
A. The dispensing fee is the amount of money that is added to the provider's wholesale acquisition cost of materials. It is generally the only profit made by the provider on a purchase.
Q. Is the eye exam discounted?
A. Yes, at approximately 4,000 of our 12,000 locations nationwide. Our member service representatives can provide the member with the locations that discount eye exams.
Q. How does the benefit work?
A. Members should call the toll-free number located on the membership card to locate an optical provider in their area. To receive the discount, the member must show the provider the membership card and identify his/herself as a member of the Coast to Coast Vision Plan to receive the discount.
Q. Do members receive a discount if the store is running a sale?
A. The location will not combine our contracted discount with the sale price. However, in most cases, the Coast to Coast price will be better than the sale price.
Q. Do the retail locations mark up the merchandise to give the discount?
A. No. Members receive the discount because CTC brings the buying power of over 9 million members to the optical retailers participating in the plan.
Q. How do members nominate their doctor or optician for the Coast To Coast plan?
A. To refer a doctor to the Coast to Coast Plan, the member must provide his/her name, address and phone number and we will contact him/her about becoming a provider. If the practitioner does not wish to join the plan, the member may still use him/her for their eye exam. Simply take the prescription to one of our participating providers to receive a discount on glasses or contact lenses.
Q. Can members purchase disposable contact lenses at a discount through a participating optical center?
A. No. Disposable lenses are generally priced as "loss leaders" at the retail stores. However, members can use the mail order contact lens program to receive discounts when ordering disposable lenses.
Q. What if a members contact lenses are destroyed while they are on vacation?
A. Simply call the toll-free number on the back of the membership card. The patient registration keeps the prescription on file until it expires and we can send the replacements overnight to almost anywhere in the world.
HEARING BENEFIT
Q. What is the hearing aids benefit?
A. Members call the toll-free number to speak with a representative who will answer questions about hearing loss, hearing aids, pricing/payment options and arrange a hearing test appointment at the closest hearing provider. Members utilizing this program may also receive a free two year repair warranty on hearing aids, as well as a free one year supply of batteries and a 5% discount on future purchases of cartons of batteries. Furthermore through Beltone, members receive a 15% discount and a free hearing test at over 1,300 Beltone locations throughout the US. In addition, members have access to a mail order program that offers discounts of 20% to 60% off average National Retail Pricing on over 80 models of name brand hearing instruments.
Q. Can family members utilize this benefit?
A. Yes. This plan may be used by the member, their spouse, and legal dependants.
Q. Is the discount the same at all Beltone locations?
A. Yes. All Beltone locations will offer a 15% discount and a free hearing test.
Q. Is there a selection of hearing aids from which to choose?
A. Yes, most locations offer 15 different brands and over 70 models.
Q. What states do not allow hearing aids to be bought through the mail?
A. This benefit is available in all 50 states.
PHARMACY
Q. What can I expect to save with this membership?
A. Prices will always vary on prescription drugs and therefore it is impossible to estimate specific dollar savings through any non-insured drug program. Your membership offers two avenues for drug purchases: The Neighborhood Pharmacy program offers 10% to 60% discounts on acute care medications and the Mail Order Pharmacy guarantees an average of 10% off AARP's prices. Should you receive a quote anywhere else for less than our mail order pharmacy, we will beat it by a minimum of $5.00 on brand name and generic medications priced at $10.00 or more with no postage or dispensing fees added. Savings can not be used in conjunction with other discount or insurance cards.
Q. Do I get a discount on every single drug at the neighborhood pharmacy when I use my Membership card?
A. Not necessarily. Drug stores, like hardware and grocery stores determine their own pricing structures. Due to large discounts from manufacturers, some drugs may already be priced at or below the PBM's discount price. However, as a general rule, you can expect that 80% to 90% of your required, acute care prescription needs will be discounted below the stores usual retail price. The PBM network pharmacies have agreed to sell prescription drugs at the contract price, or their "usual retail price" whichever is lower.
Q. Why didn't I save any money at the participating local drugstore?
A. More than likely, you ordered a long-term maintenance medication versus a short-term acute care medication such as an antibiotic or pain-killer. Most pharmacies use long-term, maintenance medications as "loss leaders" and price these drugs at or below cost. They do this so that their customers will assume that all their prices are low. It's a marketing strategy. The pharmacy realizes that for long-term medications, you'll shop around in order to get the best price for a medication that you may be taking for the rest of your life. As the consumer, you are led to believe that this pharmacy has low prices on all their prescription drugs and other items. Our pharmacy program has contracted with independent and chain pharmacies nationwide to offer you a discounted price that will normally save you 10% to 60% on short term medications. However, in order to draw customers, many pharmacies opt to price their prescriptions lower than the contracted price. In this case the member gets the lower of the two. Normally, they use high profile maintenance drugs for these "loss leader" price reductions such as Prozac, Zantac, and Premarin. In order to guarantee members a savings, we established a mail order pharmacy program which absolutely, positively guarantees to beat any price quoted elsewhere by a minimum of $5.00 with no dispensing or postage fees added provided the brand or generic price exceeds $10.00.
Q. What if the Pharmacist doesn't recognize the card's name?
A. Always make inquiries in person and be sure to bring your card with you. When the pharmacist sees the Pharmacy Benefit Manager information on the card, the pharmacist then understands which program you are on.
Q. Is this a co-pay insurance card?
A. No. A co-pay card is an insured product where the customer pays a preset amount and the insurance company pays the remainder. This membership is a discount card offering reduced prices. You are responsible to pay the pharmacy 100% of the discounted price.
Q. I'm a member and called the Mail Order Pharmacy to get a price quote on my maintenance drugs. The price quote was higher than my old pharmacy. What should I do?
A. When you call the Mail Order Pharmacy to get a price quote, be sure to tell the representative where you found it for less. If the quotation you are given does not beat the price you are currently paying by at least $5.00, the operator will verify the price being charged at your local pharmacy and beat it by $5.00. This outstanding price guarantee is effective for all brand or generic drugs priced over $10.00.
LONG TERM ELDER CARE
Q. What is the Long-term/Elder care benefit?
A. This benefit is a one-stop resource for those who are concerned about or actively caring for an aging parent or other family member. Aging experts draw on their experience, knowledge of local resources, and the latest information on aging to answer questions, identify the real issues, and arrange for the help and resources for members and their aging family members needs.
Q. How does this benefit work?
A. Simply call the toll-free number located on the membership card to speak with an elder care representative. Once eligibility is established, the member will be asked for information that will assist the representative in directing them to the appropriate elder care specialist. The trained and experienced elder care specialist will help with understanding the issues related to caring for an older person and assist in making the right choices. Alternatively, access elder care information, personalized planning tools and other resources on the web by visiting www.nursenavigator.com
Q. What does this benefit offer?
A. Long-term/Elder care provides members with:
- Elder Care Information and Referral Care Management Associates are available 24/7 to provide assistance with elder care concerns, answer long-term care questions and help locate local assistance.
- Discount home health and long-term network Long Term Members can save 4% to 30% at 5,500 providers when seeking home health agency or assisted living facilities.
- Elder care website access Comprehensive website that offers features such as skill sheets, condition research, caregiver advice, two minute test, care giver tools, resource finder and member reports.
- Discounted fee for service geriatric care management services 3,500 nurses and social workers provide telephonic and in-home evaluations (for an additional hourly or package fee) for all levels of care from basic to comprehensive.
Chiropractic
Q. What is UHS Chiropractic?
A. UHS Chiropractic provides services at discounted rates from a choice of over 3,000 participating Doctors of Chiropractic.
Q. How much can members expect to save?
A. Members will receive a free initial consultation, as well as 50% savings on diagnostic procedures and x-rays performed on-site , and 30% savings on treatments and most other services.
Q. Who needs chiropractic care?
A. Everyone can benefit from modern, safe, effective, and painless chiropractic care.
Q. How does this benefit work?
A. Members should call the toll-free number located on the membership card Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central and Saturday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Central to locate a provider. When calling to schedule an appointment, the member should identify his/herself as a member of the UHS Chiropractic plan. To receive the discount the member must present the membership card and pay the total bill at the time of service.
Q. Can a member nominate a chiropractor to become a participating provider for this program?
A. Yes. To nominate a chiropractor for the UHS Chiropractic program, just call the toll-free number located on the membership card and we will contact him/her about becoming a provider.
Q. Is there a consultation fee?
A. The initial consultation is free!
Q. Can this discount be combined with insurance?
A. Yes. After the member pays the discounted amount at the point of service, he/she may then file the claim with the insurance company.
