CIGNA Launches Two National Initiatives to Improve Service for Physicians & Hospitals

Now Available: In-Office/Hospital Pre-Care Treatment Cost Estimates; Saturday and Holiday Service Hours



BLOOMFIELD, Conn.- Effective today, the CIGNA Cost of Care Estimator and extended weekend and holiday call service hours are now available to virtually all 550,000 CIGNA-contracted physicians, hospitals and free-standing clinics across the United States.

These two market-leading initiatives underscore CIGNA’s ongoing commitment to be the partner of choice for physicians and hospitals by working collaboratively to:

* Shorten physician and facility revenue cycles by improving payment information and processes;
* Support delivery of quality health care by providing information that helps manage patient care more effectively;
* Minimize administrative costs and make it simpler to do business with CIGNA.

CIGNA Cost of Care Estimator

The CIGNA Cost of Care Estimator provides real-time pre-care and point of care itemized cost estimates for medical treatments, including an Explanation of Estimate that the physician can share with their patient detailing the total cost, how the covered individual’s benefits are applied, the anticipated payment from an individual’s health account (such as an HRA), and any out-of-pocket costs for which the individual is responsible. CIGNA’s Estimator is powered by the proprietary Thomson Reuters treatment cost calculation tool and backed by its analytic and predictive modeling expertise.

By providing itemized cost estimates and explaining the sources of payment, based on the covered individual’s specific plan, the CIGNA Cost of Care Estimator helps people understand their benefits and how much they owe for specific services. The Estimator can serve as the basis of pre-care financial discussions in order to help avoid after-the-fact financial surprises, and also help avoid potential point-of-care over-billing because both the individual and physician can see the portion that’s paid by insurance and by the individual’s health account(s).

In market trials of the Estimator, individuals who were shown CIGNA’s Explanation of Estimate by their health care professional said: receiving the Estimate is helpful (80%); knowing their obligation while in the care setting makes it more likely they will pay the bill (74%); and the Estimate helps them understand their benefits (72%).

Health care professionals who are contracted directly with CIGNA may access the CIGNA Cost of Care Estimator using CIGNA’s secure website for physicians and facilities, www.CIGNAforHCP.com.

CIGNA HealthCare Professional Service Extension

CIGNA is also extending its call center service hours for contracted physicians, hospitals and free-standing clinics to include Saturdays and holidays, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. CIGNA’s toll free call service for health care professionals is: 1.800.882.4462 (1.800.88CIGNA).

In February, CIGNA became the first national health service company to open its nationwide customer call centers on Saturdays and holidays for all its medical, dental and pharmacy health employee benefits plans. These call centers are also extending their Saturday and holiday hours of operation to now be open from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. CIGNA’s nationally recognized call centers receive an average of 100,000 service calls and emails a day during the work week for a total of 20 million contacts a year.