Wellcare Medicare Advantage 2024-2025 Review: Pros, Cons, Costs

Wellcare Medicare Advantage pros and cons

Our full review

Wellcare Medicare Advantage star ratings

Average star rating, weighted by enrollment: 3.2

Wellcare Medicare Advantage plans are rated well below the industry average, receiving an average rating of 3.2 stars out of 5 from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for 2025, weighted by enrollment. For comparison, the average weighted star rating for plans from all providers is 3.95.

Only one of Wellcare’s 2025 plans received a star rating of 4 stars. The rest of the company's plans are rated 3.5 stars or lower^[0]

CMS maintains its own database of star ratings on every Medicare Advantage and separate Medicare Part D plan, ranging from best (5 stars) to worst (1 star). The agency bases these ratings on plans’ quality of care and measurements of customer satisfaction, and ratings may change from year to year.

You can find a plan’s rating with the Medicare plan finding tool.

What does Wellcare Medicare Advantage cost?

Of Wellcare’s HMO, PPO and PFFS plans in 2025, 7 in 10 offer a $0 premium. Of Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans with a monthly cost, the average premium in 2025 is $36.67, which is lower than most major providers. You'll also be responsible for paying your Medicare Part B premium, which is at least $185 per month in 2025^[0]

(Most people pay this standard Part B amount, but if your income is above a certain threshold, you’ll pay the income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA). Some Medicare Advantage plans cover part or all of your Part B premium.)

Requirements for copays, coinsurance and deductibles vary depending on your plan, location and the services you use. Out-of-pocket costs to consider include:

• The plan's deductibles.

• Copayments and/or coinsurance for each visit or service. For instance, there may be a $10 copay for seeing your primary doctor and a $45 copay for seeing a specialist.

• The plan’s in-network and out-of-network out-of-pocket maximums.

• Whether your medical providers are in-network or out-of-network, and how often you may go out-of-network for care.

• Whether you require extra benefits, and if the plan charges for them.

Here are some examples of Wellcare Medicare Advantage costs for some popular plans in a mid-range city:

To get a sense of costs, use Medicare’s plan finding tool to compare information among available plans in your area. You can select by insurance carrier to see only Wellcare plans, or compare across carriers.

Wellcare Medicare Advantage plan types

Wellcare offers Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans as well as stand-alone prescription drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans without drug coverage.

Plan offerings include the following types:

Third-party ratings

J.D. Power Ranking

In its 2024 U.S. Medicare Advantage Study — the 10th it’s done so far — J.D. Power measured member satisfaction with Medicare Advantage plans based on eight factors ranging from level of trust to how well a provider resolves problems or complaints. The study was fielded in the 10 biggest state Medicare markets, and here’s how Wellcare ranked in the locations where it had enough market share to be considered^[0]

• California: 8th out of 8.

• Florida: 6th out of 6. 

• Georgia: 4th out of 4.

• Illinois: 5th out of 5.

• Texas: 6th out of 6.

NCQA Score Range: 2.5 to 3.5 out of 5

The National Committee for Quality Assurance rates health insurance plans on a 5-point scale (with 5 being best) based on clinical quality, member satisfaction and results from the NCQA Accreditation Survey. The ratings highlight the results of care and what patients say about their care.

In September 2024, the NCQA ranked Wellcare plans between 2.5 and 3.5 stars, with five of the nine rated plans scoring 2.5 stars^[0]

Wellcare Medicare Advantage service area

Wellcare offers Medicare Advantage plans in 32 states.

Parent company Centene is the fifth-largest Medicare Advantage provider among for-profit health plans. More than 1.1 million Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in a Centene Medicare Advantage plan, but the company lost 212,000 members for the 2024 plan year^[0]

» MORE: Read our review of Wellcare's Medicare Part D plans

Wellcare customer service

Wellcare members can contact their plan’s customer service in the following ways:

• Send a question through a Contact form.

• Visit your Wellcare state page (search “Wellcare” and your state) and select Contact Us. This page contains phone numbers for current and prospective Medicare members, prescription drug plan members and a Nurse Advice Line, depending on the state.