Cigna Health Insurance Reviews

I asked for a supervisor, who said his name was Rodis **. He again said I had to speak to the Marketplace. After insisting that the Marketplace would not have any record of my payment to Cigna, he told me this was the only way it could be done. As I was getting nowhere, I did call the Marketplace who said the only thing they could verify was that my tax credit was paid, they do not receive records of my payments to Cigna - no surprise there! I called back a third time, this time to the phone number on the myCigna web page, 866 494-2111. The person who answered not only faxed the information to my school board, but is sending me a copy of my payment record.

So Dr. John **, Title, Associate Medical Specialty Director Specialty: Thoracic Surgery, is the guy listed as having reviewed whether or not I need this procedure. Now this Dr. must have magical powers! Why? Because he's never seen me, has no clue as to how or what I'm suffering in pain, yet he can over the internet and looking at the procedure determine I don't need it. Problem is the MRI on my Lumbar Spine, which is the procedure that was denied, is what identified what my problem is, which is three bulging lumbar disc in my lower spine. The letter is signed by Dr. Gregg **, MD, Supervising Medical Director, Diagnostic Utilization Management Programs.

Dr. ** nor Dr. ** wouldn't know me if they passed me in a hallway, let alone ever laid a hand on me to diagnose a problem. This is just one, in a long line of many programs that Cigna puts in place in keep from paying claims. Cigna's mission is to collect premiums and not pay claims. What Cigna really needs to do is to issue a list of procedures that require prior approval and how long that prior approval will take. So you go to the doctor, they pay. The doctor applies for approval of a procedure, then you back to the doctor, so Cigna pays again. Instead of an X-Ray doing the trick, you need an MRI. So back to approval. Now back to the Doctor for the now approved procedure and again Cigna pays. Doesn't sound like a great way to limit trips to the Doctor or limit amounts paid to the Doctors.

I'm learning how to manage the gauntlet and it's causing me to go to Doctor more than I ever have in my life. And then Cigna wants me to have this RN talk to me on the phone, "to help me" live better. Well since I've not been able to walk, ride a bike or exercise it's kinda hard to have an RN over phone help me live better when the Dr's at Cigna don't me to solve whatever problem I have. I'd steer clear of Cigna if you have a choice. There are much better insurance companies out there. My Personal Opinion.

Another example (the latest)... Received a letter dated June 22, 2016 and got it June 29, 2016 advising me that I have seven days to have my Doctor complete "ADDITIONAL" information or my leave could be denied. My medical team that works with me has never had to deal with backwards company like this. I think the thing that upsets me the most. The Leave Managers. NO regard. NO care. It's obvious to them it's just a paycheck and could careless about the customer in any way shape or form.

I needed FMLA because my father was diagnosed with Stage 4 Esophageal Cancer. Two months later I fell and dislocated my ankle and broke it in 3 different places. Lastly because of the shock of the break and all the medications I was on I had Acute Pancreatitis and was hospitalized. It's been a rough year and this company and its employees were of no help whatsoever. I'd rather take a beating than deal with Cigna ever again. Thankfully my employer dropped them as of July 01 2016. WORST Six months of my life. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!!

After threats and them hearing my health things they decided to approve the MRI. It sucks that a company like Cigna cannot take if other issues with the area that the MRI would be pre-formed on like it just cut and dry. The doc told me they are the worst to approve a procedure - the first time the union went to the cheap side dealing with Cigna which sucks. They might save a little money till it's time to re-due the contract with the union, then they will see that Blue Cross was great. UFCW you got weak with dealings with Cigna. You suck as much as Cigna does.

I honestly am crying right now as I'm writing this review! I truly believe that Cigna is counting on people to be so stressed out that they can not possibly continue on the fight so they can keep our money and we give up!! My next step will be to consult an attorney for all the distress I have incurred trying to get reimbursed. This last request I have sent proof 3 times and even kept the fax confirmations showing proof that it was sent because I knew it would be declined. The letter I received today is stating in notes D04 "We cannot consider your request at this time. It is past the deadline to file a refund request." Unbelievable!!! After 3 times of resending now it expires? D10 "We have already processed these items on your claim. Please call customer service using the phone number on the back of your ID card." Unbelievable!!!

I have called that number several times and spoke to a representative who assured me I was in the right and would receive my reimbursement like I have in the past. So I sent in the proof we spoke about again! And again, spent hours and hours being transferred to the "correct person" to no avail. D21 "Please send us a copy of the prescription that matches what's on the claim form." Unbelievable!! For the forth time!!!

I can not take this any more! Every time I call the number I can not speak to the same person! I can only hope the person (who will only give me their fist name) will put notes on my account which most of the time the representative will not review the comments from the last time I called. I can't even get the information to talk to a supervisor to help me. I'm at my wit's end! This is the worst insurance company I have ever dealt with!! I see at the bottom it's asking for an order number. I don't know what that means but I put in an Advice # **.

Following with their requests the orthopedic surgeon spoke with the medical director and it was denied again. Specifications were that she needed to quit smoking for 6 weeks and they would reevaluate. WHAT?? 6 weeks of more waiting when you aren't working and needing a spinal fusion??? For the record she had stopped smoking last year and a form has now been faxed to Cigna from her PCP stating that. Still the status of denied, so now more waiting. We are required to carry and pay for health insurance yet they want to deny and drag their feet when you need it. This is a back injury keeping her out of work. Everyone just wants to be taken care of and fixed. Any suggestions?

In addition, our insurance would be higher if we decided to opt out of Cigna's use of the Vitality points system. I have no idea how much Vitality shares with Cigna, but in order to earn enough points, Vitality requires intrusive information (Personal habits, lifestyle choices, connecting with Fitbit or other step counters, keeping tabs on gym usage, etc.). I feel as though I am tethered to our insurance company. As a result, I am under more stress which has resulted in a lower quality of life. I often question if the point system is a violation of HIPPA.

To make matters worse, even though the annual check-up is supposed to be free, Cigna does not always cover everything. What they will or will not cover is not clear, and there seems to be no logic. Either the logic isn't there or the company uses legalese in order to get away with covering as little as possible while charging premium rates. As a consumer, I feel unempowered under Cigna. If not for the tax penalty, we would choose to have no insurance instead of paying for insurance we cannot use.

When my wife and I were working, our company paid for our dental coverage and Cigna was the policy we had. We ended up later in our career (as we got older) requiring cleanings 3 times per year. Cigna covered 3 cleanings annually because 'blanket' policies for the most part give better coverage; other members premiums are subsidizing the profit margin on us. simple economics. When we retired, all that changed. We had to secure our own policy and we chose a company we were familiar with: Cigna.

However, being on our own now, the total for the family plan (my wife and I) was $960.00 annually. The catch was they would only pay for 2 cleanings per year. Gotcha. We bit the bullet and signed up in January of 2015. The year went by and we had our 3 cleanings and they paid for 2. No surprises. No unfulfilled expectations. January of 2016 came and we sent them another $960.00 to continue the policy through the year.

When we submitted our claims for cleanings in February, they were denied. I called and was told that the cleanings were within six months of each other. I said, 'wait a minute, those cleanings we had in October (our 3rd cleaning in 2015) was last year. What does that have to do with this year?' The rep said "we look back into the previous year to count the months for the subsequent cleaning in the current year." Now I'm detecting a funny odor. Wait a minute. I pay you $960.00 for what I think is an annual policy, but you're treating it as a concurrent policy. No fair.

Here's the juicy part. Because my wife and I get cleanings every 4 months, Cigna will actually only be paying for 1 cleaning from now on out. Unless, of course, we delay our cleanings a few months. We're not doing that. So let's get this straight. I say to the rep. "in essence, we'll be paying Cigna $960 for 1 cleaning per year each." She says "that's right." No brainer.... I tell her to cancel my policy effective the end of the month. I'll give them this much, the refund of $800 was credited to my card within the week. But that's all I'll give them. Why didn't they tell me this when I signed up for this policy? I've got a few ideas but I won't get into that.

Needless to say, I wrote them (the letter was addressed to the top honcho) 2 nasty letters about unfair business practices and deceptive advertising, etc. The 'message' in my first letter which gave all the details, was conveniently overlooked in my opinion, because they sent me a letter highlighting the policies 'rules of engagement' coverage. Typical. The second letter was tweaked a little more to shame them into a fair response. As it turns out, I got all my money back for January and February of 2016 and then some. Oh, by the way, when I got my phone call with the good news, the woman from the executive advocacy team couldn't resist saying 'we're making an exception by doing this for you'. Yeah, like it was my fault. You gotta love em, right? Incidentally, these were hand written letters. Yes, people like us are still out there. And these companies hate hand written letters. Buyer beware and good luck.

When I told one of the many Cigna reps that I spoke to, they told me NYS law doesn't matter, it's what the insurance policy says. But in my countless hours of research I found that Cigna's own policy on their website regarding the coverage of infant formula states Under many Cigna plans, oral or enteral nutritional therapy, formula and supplementation are not covered for any indication unless it is mandated by state law or specifically included in the benefit plan document. So NYS law mandates it, so why is this happening. You can't believe the stress this is putting on my family. I am notifying my husband's HR department and sending over all my documentation including scripts, a copy of the NYS amendment and a copy of Cigna's own policy highlighted.

I used to work at some ** insurance company and I'm very well know replies like this. It took a month of waiting of reply but I got nothing. I thought Cigna was the best insurance I know. I don't know what is the difference between Cigna USA and Cigna Global Solutions (UK) but I am very disappointed with the second one. When I decided to see a doctor, my hospital sent request to Cigna to get confirmation for outpatient treatment. Cigna requested more information about my condition and sent denial to the hospital and I received email at the same day with new insurance certificate with exclusions for my pre-existing illness says something like: "our underwriters didn't know you had these symptoms in the past."

Where in the world after you signed, for example, lease contract for 500$ per month, your landlord then says "you have to pay 1000$". Hello you've signed contract already. I didn't want to deal with Cigna anymore and I decided to terminate the contract. It's been 2nd week since I informed Cigna to cancel the contract and return my money back but I'm still waiting for any reply.

FIRST ISSUE: Perhaps it all started when I went to the doctor and tried to use my prepaid Cigna flexible spending Visa card. The doctor's office rejected our card. They couldn't get it to work, even though there was $200 on it. The poor woman ran the card five or six times and it was continuously rejected. And no - the woman was not making any mistakes. We checked the card later and yep - there is $200 on it. Cigna, this is really inconvenient! It works sometimes, but sometimes it doesn't??? Not good.

SECOND ISSUE: I'm pretty sure that Cigna violates HIPAA! And they make excuses and then berate you on the phone when you complain about it. Case in point: After waiting for approval on a specialty medication for my arthritis my husband received a letter of rejection. My husband. Not me. His name was on the letter. They addressed it to him. They directly address him in the letter. It was MY medication. My husband doesn't even see the same doctor I do. I don't open my husband's mail, Cigna. And furthermore, I waited a long time for an answer on that medication. When I called about it after the fact you're totally inept phone agent made a lame excuse: "Oh, that's nothing. The computer grabs the name of the primary member." I did not find this response suitable!!

Then I was berated by the agent! He didn't think it was a big deal. I do! It's MY prescription, not my husband's. I don't keep secrets from my husband, but this is in direct violation of HIPAA because it addresses medication for specific medical conditions that are nobody's business but my own. Firstly, it annoys the hell out of me, and secondly - shame on Cigna for berating me over it!! I simply do not appreciate being talked down to. I don't have to accept this. I deserve my privacy! So, way to go, Cigna, for probably breaking the law and also for annoying me. There are three adults in this house and we each deserve to get our own mail with our own private medical information enclosed. I don't have to put up with what "a computer grabs". That is WRONG!!

THIRD ISSUE: So... did Cigna ever change the name in the system to reflect my name on my correspondence and on my online pharmacy orders, when I called to complain about it, you wonder?? NO! NO - THEY DID NOT. Ineptitude! FOURTH ISSUE: I called AGAIN to have my name put onto my correspondence and on my online pharmacy orders (plus to clear up three other mistakes they had made on my account), and once again I was given the excuse: "The computer keeps grabbing the name of the primary member", and they once again went on to berate me for wanting my own name put on there. Like, seriously. They yelled at me. Once again - this is MY mail. Not my husband's. These are MY medical issues. Not my husband's Not my daughter's. MINE. Consider, HIPAA regulations, people!! It's an issue of PRIVACY. Period.

FIFTH ISSUE: The computer "ordered" a prescription for me that was NOT on auto-refill, nor did I order it myself. The inept phone agent didn't know the reason why this happened, nor did he remove it. He first told me that my doctor had sent it in. That was not true. The notes on the order said, "pending doctor's approval". It was a computer glitch, plain and simple. One that I had to waste my time fixing. I told them to cancel it. They refused. It is still on my account.

SIXTH ISSUE: When I had an allergic reaction to Humira and could no longer take it, I went to my doctor who prescribed me something new. I called Cigna to have the Humira cancelled. I told them the new orders kept showing up on my ordering page online, and that I was continuously getting auto-bot phone calls to arrange shipment. The phone agent's response was to blow me off. I was told that "It is kept in the history, that can't ever go away!" My response was, "I don't care what is in the history. That's fine. That's not what bothers me. I specifically called two weeks ago to have this order removed. I am on the west coast and Cigna is on the east coast. Cigna's ROBOT keeps calling me at 5 am to refill this order!!" I want it to stop. I respectfully want it to STOP. That is why I've called about it. Twice. I'VE CALLED TWICE!! ACK!

SEVENTH ISSUE: Cigna keeps beating around the bush (and getting defensive) over their OBVIOUS I.T. problems. Case in point: I've been waiting a week for a new specialty medication. When I check online I see a pending order for my 20-year-old daughter, but the website does not reveal the name of the medication. We did not place an order for her, so I call to ask if this is my Enbrel. The response from the inept phone agent: "No. This isn't for your daughter." Was all he said. No further explanation. Doh!! And I told him that of course it isn't for my daughter. Is it my Enbrel? Response: "Yes." So I asked her. "Will you please put MY name on this order?" Response: "Well, ma'am, the computer grabbed the wrong address." So I said, "Great, another mistake from Cigna"... to which the phone agent got really sassy and said, "No! Not a mistake! The computer grabbed the wrong address."

HAHA!!! Seriously? I had to really get pushy to have my name changed on this order. A few moments later I refreshed the page to see that the name had, indeed, gotten changed. It now had my husband's name. *SIGH*. When I asked that MY name be put on MY prescription the woman once again got defensive and began yelling at me. I had to interrupt her by saying firmly: "With all due respect, I do not think it is inappropriate for me to want my own name on my prescription." She finally changed it, but oh, what an ordeal!!! I am urging anyone who reads this to think twice about using this company. I have to jump through many hoops with this company. They are inept, rude and they are quite strict with approving medications. Look elsewhere if you possibly can afford to go somewhere else.

It wouldn't surprise me that Cigna might respond to this by saying, "Hey, if you have a problem just call us. Computers make mistakes." But that would be a serious understatement. We've called them repeatedly because there are CONSISTENT problems on their end with our accounts. And the thing is that they NEVER apologize for any of it. They only make excuses AND they get super defensive and yell. It isn't normal to have to deal with so many problems with the same company. And for the record, we DID call. Many times. The problems never got resolved right away. It took repeated calls to get anything done. No one wants to deal with that! Use another company if you possibly can.

So when they told me I had not paid March 2016 payment, I gave them the info for the check. Later Apr 2016 I informed them that my check had cleared my bank. They said to prove it. I sent them the cancelled check. Then first week in May they notified me I was steamrolled. When I called them they informed me the check was not cashed by them. This came as a shock to me. The bank, after investigation confirmed it was not cashed by Cigna. By then I have been charged over $500 in charges for my meds. I suspect someone in their organization had fraudulently cashed my check. They will not conduct the investigation.

Every practice we called off of Cigna's preferred list had made it clear that they no longer accept Cigna. HOW DID WE GET OURSELVES STUCK WITH HORRIBLE COMPANY?! We don't have a choice but put our healthcare needs aside and wait till end of year to change companies and for the meantime my wife (cancer survivor) and am over 50 have to live on hope that we will be OK without any testing and check-ups.

For the estrogen and sleeping pill, the insurance company simply decided that I was too old: too old for estrogen for osteoporosis, too old for a narcotic for pain, too old to use a sleeping pill that works best with my antidepressants. I think that is for my physician to determine. Nowhere in Cigna's plan literature did they warn me that all my prescriptions would involve special documentation for every renewal. I do understand their need for evidence of step therapy for **, but not any of the others.

Another nasty trip of this company is that the plan shows affordable premiums and copays. Even their online program to estimate your yearly drug costs gave a good picture. What they don't tell you is that they charge Medicare a lot more on their side for each drug so that you arrive at the insurance gap (donut hole) much sooner. In 2015, with the same drugs (plus a few other occasional ones), I did not reach the donut hole until the end of November. It is the middle of May, and I am already in the donut hole. When all is added up at the end of the year, this plan will be much more expensive than my former plan, even in the absence of ** coverage. But, the aggravation of working with this company is also extremely costly.

I'm sorry but I FAIL to see how that is "covering" anybody when he is told at the office there's a $20.00 copay and then get stiffed with the WHOLE bill anyways. WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS FRAUD??? REALLY? Well, folks TWO WORDS, "ATTORNEY GENERAL"!!! Oh and by the way, they keep "losing" his information and skipping him off coverage anyways so we are planning to find a better company than Cigna. How sad none of these complaints on here say "solved". Not one!!!

Called the number at the bottom of the approval letter. On hold, then, "we'll need to put you through to the Medical dept". On hold for 15 minutes, then, "we'll need to connect you with Authorization", on hold for 25 minutes, then "oh you'll need to talk with CIGNA pharmacy". Pharmacy said my copay was 15% but couldn't tell me 15% of what amount!!! Said I needed to talk with Authorization dept. I begged that they not transfer me there, but there is where I had to go. On hold for 15 more minutes, only to find that I needed to talk with a PSA (personal service advocate, and I'm almost certain that's where I started). Took a while but Zanne recognized my frustration and made all the connections on my behalf.

Sadly, this new drug costs $139/mg. Each dose requires 873 mg. Need 8 doses per year. Math comes out to $970k/yr. He was stunned. I was stunned (but I only have to pay 15% per year, sarcastic laugh). CIGNA's support line really stinks. Their written communication is, in my opinion, intentionally vague, to bait individuals, and the drug companies are just what you've heard, huge rip-offs. I believe in a fair price, and I realize CIGNA has no part in this, but almost 1 million a year for a drug??? Again, Zanne (sounds like Zayne) in Personal Service Advocacy was terrific. He connected with everyone that I was getting passed around to, understood I was one POed caller and got me through the call. In 15 minutes he did what the first 75 minutes of idiots in the CIGNA helpline could not.

He called and was asked for my claim number, but Cigna has yet to provide him a claim number. Then he was asked for his social security number and was told that they still could not find him in the system. After providing his name he was told that his social security number was wrong in their system. He has already filed a complaint with the Texas Department of Insurance. While researching, I have found that they initially deny 65% of all claims. This is a heartless company that could care less about the added stress they are causing.

Dear Cigna, how come when you want my money your database never has any issues. Yet the one time I needed you, you happily reported "we have no idea who this person is"? The customer service is friendly but incompetent as hell. You get bounced from one person to another, and they never read the history. You have to explain everything again and again to each person, and even then all they offer you is "we do apologize". I had to pay the hospital bills out of my pocket, and considering my insurance company is Cigna I have no clue whether or not I'll be refunded. No insurance is better and cheaper than being insured by Cigna, seriously.

At the beginning of 2016, I remained enrolled in Cigna Home Delivery (CHD) and a medication renewed. The price had gone from $65 to $279!! When I called I was told that Cigna had changed their preferred mail order pharmacy from CHD to Walmart. I called Walmart multiple times - every call was a "20-minute" wait AND required that I get new prescriptions from my doctor rather than transferring unexpired prescriptions from CHD. Luckily I checked with Walgreen's and they gave me the preferred provider price and transferred my prescriptions. The same medication at Walgreen's was $72.

When I saw the $279 charge from CHD I called and Franchesca from customer service said she could stop the order from shipping. She also promised to forward me the notification that my coverage had changed. The notification materials which I requested never came and the prescription which they said they had cancelled arrived on my doorstep and automatically charged my charge card the $279!

I called CHD several times and they kept passing me on to other extensions and supervisors. My first call was on 03.18.16 and I just got my final "no" today (04.27.16) from Josh (Employee # **). For a customer service rep, he was arrogant - Cigna was unwilling to let me return the exorbitantly priced prescription or to adjust the price to the preferred provider price. (This is Cigna Home Delivery & Cigna HealthSpring -- both subsidiaries of Cigna Corporation - apparently the children companies don't play well together!!) For a company that supposedly "works" with Medicare enrollees, their service is lacking and their response is that it's "not their problem". I was not surprised that the centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) imposed sanctions on Cigna HealthSpring.

When I had my daughter 5 years ago, Blue Cross/Blue Shield covered the whole birth and well-child exams, no deductible and no back and forth. I wish I had them now. Needless to say, I am switching insurance. I have contacted NALC no less than 8 times and have gotten the runaround each time. I myself am a physician, so I know that their refusal of these claims is unfounded medically and is unethical. They have failed to meet their contractual obligations. They have wasted my time but still I am dedicating my time now to warn you so you can avoid having to deal with this company. Save yourself!

People are suffering from Cigna-HealthSpring's callous refusal to process Part D claims in good faith. Cigna puts the burden on the enrollee and the provider to prove that the drugs are necessary when the drugs are clearly necessary to a medical professional, and then Cigna will stubbornly ignore the most obvious facts. This is a calculated policy by Cigna-HealthSpring and the financial motive is clear - each legitimate request for coverage that can be successfully rebuffed becomes pure profit at Cigna's bottom line.

Cigna-HealthSpring gave me an entirely inadequate rationale for refusing to cover an inexpensive drug (~$2/day) for a period that is not likely to extend more than a few months. It also jacked up my premium this year so that I am now paying two-and-a-half-times more for basically no coverage. (Cigna slipped the increase past me - I should have caught it but was not expecting a bait-and-switch.) This is not an ethical way to do business, nor in significant aspects is it legal, but Cigna gets away with its dishonesty because its enrollees (with few exceptions) do not know how to deal with big companies. But for some of us, that's all we did during our entire careers. Cigna-HealthSpring is headed for a fall - the company knowingly engages in fraudulent practices and should be put out of business. Can't give Cigna-HealthSpring less than one-star, but would definitely like to.

One of the first ones is that they have reason to believe that my child may be covered under another health insurance company. Really? I know nothing about this. I called and asked what evidence they have. They have none, they just send that out to all of their customers. Then we get one that suggests that perhaps the injury was the result of getting hurt at work, at school, or at a commercial property. If yes, then we have to provide the insurance information for that entity. Seriously? How am I supposed to get that information and is it really necessary considering participants sign releases to use the property (e.g., skiing on a mountain).

The worst though is when we use our flexible spending account to pay for our dental expenses. I cannot spend any money out of my flexible spending account because they need me to send them information about a specific transaction. I called them and asked why. They explained that they need to know what the money was used to pay for. I asked if they received the initial statement from the dentist that they require before they pay the dentist the insurance portion. They said, "yes." I asked if the flexible spending transaction shows that it was paid to the dentist. "Yes." Does the amount I paid match what the insurance company didn't cover. "Yes." They received the information from the dentist so that they could pay them. Yet, I have to resend that same information to them so that they have documentation of what I used my flexible spending money for.

Again, I asked, "did you receive the billing information from my dentist before you paid them the insurance money?" "Yes." Then they explain that two different departments at Cigna handle these things. Consequently, they have to receive the information twice. They can't communicate with themselves? No, instead us customers have to acquire the documentation from Cigna (Statement of benefits that comes from Cigna) and the itemized bill from the dentist (that they already have at Cigna). Seriously, I'm thinking either I need to find a new job that doesn't have Cigna insurance, I should go without insurance, or I need to convince my employer to switch insurance companies.

I have demanded I see him on my visits but am always denied access. What's the purpose using a doctor if you'll never see him. It took a month for my blood lab results to surface. Got nothing for pain. And still in pain. Have been to the emergency room which referred me to a urologist. Cigna, require your PCP to do a referral for specialist. Went to that appointment yesterday, nothing's in order. He moved into a new office but I still had to see the nurse. I hate Cigna and the doctors in their network don't give a damn about you.

Interestingly, the formulary for 2015 and 2016 for methylphenidate has not changed but their interpretation has. They paid for the drug last year, but now that it's too late for us to change, they have decided to stick it to us by denying coverage based on the specious argument that our use of the drug violates some federal standard. After appealing twice, I finally got someone at Cigna to decide that if we could get the physician to rewrite the prescription at two 20mg tablets/day, they would pay that. We have since done that, and Thursday I picked up the prescription. I'm now waiting to see whether they audit it and/or stand by the new silliness for more than a month.

It appears to me that Cigna (the recent purchasers of HealthSpring) insinuates to their brokers that "Prior Authorizations" are handled fairly easily in order to lure more patients then, once they've passed the cancellation date, their true colors show and they have a new set of rules for their own employees to follow. This is not an honest way to perform. If they feel a higher rate is appropriate for the way they handle their formularies, they should create it so prospective customers can make a correct decision. Their current practice is deceptive and misleading. If I could shift today to another more honest insurance carrier, I would.

Since, I am unable to charge the system, I am unable to use the system. This means that I have severe pain that significantly impacts my quality of life. It severely limits my daily activities and keeps me sedentary most of the time due to the level of pain I am in without the use of my Spinal Cord Stimulator. The battery is causing me constant 24/7 pain because it is no longer as deep under the skin as what it should be. It hurts for clothing to even touch it and is very painful just to sit. My physician's office has submitted the request to the insurance multiple times for this surgery with paperwork proving the medical necessity of this surgery. Cigna Healthspring has repeatedly denied the surgery despite the medical necessity.

The surgery was scheduled in 2015 and cancelled due to Cigna Healthspring denying the surgery and they have continued to deny it with every submission to the insurance. I even called Cigna Healthspring myself (I believe it was in January 2016) and they told me that the surgery had been approved and I never received any letter denying the surgery beyond the very first time. The doctor's office checked into that claim and they told me that they were told by Cigna Healthspring it had been denied again. It is now April of 2016 and my doctor's office is still fighting to get the surgery approved for me while I continue to live in excruciating pain that is not necessary if they would approve the surgery. I am not happy with them at all.

My doctor has raised my medication dosage 2x because my blood pressure was not being controlled. I was hospitalized the first for the pregnancy. To this doctor my blood pressure was at a dangerous level 10/12/15. After appealing the decision, I received another letter stating Cigna decided to uphold the current denial. Just to give an idea of the majors I am having during my pregnancy which has caused my doctor to put me on bed rest please see below:

Chronic hypertension, blurry vision/see spots, Hyperemesis Gravidarum, irritable uterus, heart palpitations, Tachycardia, sleep apnea. Currently under cardiologist care- 24 hour holter monitor, EKG and sonogram of heart done. Constant lightheadedness, constant headaches. Medications- Labetalol-QID/Side effects: Excessive tiredness, tingling scalp or skin, dizziness, lightheadedness, upset stomach, stuffy nose, fatigue. Zofran- for vomiting. Aspirin- to help prevent another placental abruption. Macro bid regimen- prevent recurring bladder infections.

All the reasons above are why my doctor put me on bed rest. The first denial letter stated I didn't have chronic hypertension. Some of my office visits showed an improvement in my blood pressure because of the increased medication which makes sense, which does not mean I do not have chronic hypertension. The denial letter from appeals stated there was no reason why I could not perform my job. There is no way possible I can drive to work and perform my work duties in my condition. Right now I have weekly doctor's appointments, non stress test 2x weekly because of my condition. My condition is serious and puts me and my unborn child at risk for death. I believe my record needs to be looked over again. When I tried to contact Gena in appeals in the Pennsylvania office she was not very pleasant to speak to and didn't want me to keep sending her updated info. She said it did not make sense.

I contacted Gena's manager Melissa and she apologized and gave me her email address and asked me to forward my test results to her. I don't believe my claim was handled in a professional manner. Please take the time to review my documents and make sure it was handled correctly. Please contact me if any information is need. I was told Consumer advocacy has access to my entire file. - Incident **.

Another medication was denied, but they never faxed the doctor about it. The third was just sitting waiting, because the second med had been denied - no further explanation was given. No one there seems to know what's going on. They ask the same questions over and over - honestly, how many times do you need to hear his phone number, address and date of birth??? Their computers must be a mess, too, because you have to wait forever for them to look up anything. I've had some frustrations with insurance over the years, but nothing like this. It's medical negligence, in my opinion.

No wonder CMS sanctioned Cigna. Too bad that didn't happen prior to open enrollment for 2016 or I might have avoided a lot of hassle and wasted time. As other posters have mentioned, Cigna is an example of what's wrong with the US health insurance industry. Healthcare reform needs to be insurance industry overhaul. In the meantime, save yourself time and aggravation by choosing an insurance company other than Cigna.

Lo and behold, they gave me back the $38 for March 2016, but I'm out of pocket the $38 for January and $38 for February. I asked to speak to a person in higher authority and was told "I am on the leadership team, so there is no one higher to speak with". I retorted that "You can't be on the leadership team if you can't credit someone $76". That obviously got me nowhere from someone that didn't particularly care to help me to begin with. When she then stated that the policy would not be reinstated after I cancel it, I about choked. You just screwed me out of $76, you think I'm ever coming back to CIGNA.

CIGNA is NOT being fair in how poorly they communicated their program cancellation or their intentions to still keep me enrolled in their dental program. I want my $76 back! It's a matter of principle. Going over to the HR dept of the Company I consult for and sharing my CIGNA story so they remember that next year when they shop benefits for their employees....

So I began seeing the counselor. Then I began receiving statements from Cigna. While my counselor charged $130 per session, Cigna's statements gave me back 60% of other amounts, mostly $110.50 but sometimes seemingly random amounts. I called Cigna multiple times to discuss this issue. It took many calls to get any kind of answer. Some representatives said to call back once they had information. Some said they would call back but never did. Sometimes my calls were dropped, meaning I had to go through the automated system again, wait on hold, and explain the situation again to a totally different person. Very stressful, especially since I was trying to get counseling for an already stressful life change at the time!

Eventually Cigna said the $110.50 was the maximum allowable amount in the area where the social worker was, which I would have been okay with, had I not called before I even began seeing her and was told that the full $130 was within the maximum allowable amount. I went to see the representative of Cigna with my company, and she was able to listen to the original phone call and verify that I was given incorrect information. I filed a grievance with Cigna on February 25, 2015, and I received a reply on March 7, 2016. They said, "Sorry for the delay in response." They also said the amount would not be covered due to the "maximum allowable reimbursement" rule. They didn't mention the fact that I was given incorrect information by their own employee.

It is frustrating because I feel like I did my due diligence by calling Cigna prior to seeing this provider, and they gave me incorrect information. I'm not able to look up this maximum allowable reimbursement information myself, so I must rely on what they tell me. Their customer service department was extremely frustrating to work with. The fact that you have to talk to so many people and explain the situation so many times is ridiculous. I also feel that we as consumers have no power in this type of situation. They handle their own grievances, so of course they are going to decide in their own favor. The difference in the amount of money that Cigna still owes me is small (by my calculation, $333.23) but it is the principle of the situation that has made me so frustrated. I only hope my next employer offers another insurance company other than Cigna.

First, there is no generic equivalent on the market. Secondly I am 50 years old and have already tried 4 other drugs 10+ years ago, experienced side effects with all of them and finally found a drug without side effects which I have been on for several years now. Cigna (not my Doctor) wants to have me try another drug alternative (cheaper) than the drug that I have been on and has been working fine for several years. This is just wrong and another example of how screwed up the insurance industry is. I don't like insurance companies dictating or prescribing medicine for my health. This should come from the Doctor. Not sure who to blame here - ObamaCare? Insurance company? Congress? Go Trump!

I called Cigna again today and told the rep my mother's doctor will write them a letter confirming my mother's mental condition. They said she only had one opportunity. The rep also put me on hold and spoke with her supervisor. It's bad when mentally ill senior adults are treated this way. I will certainly spread the word about how my mother was treated by Cigna.

Original Review: Feb. 8, 2016

I had Cigna group benefits with an HSA until last year (2015). I called customer service at 1.800.244.6224. We divorced in late 2015, and Cigna refuses to send me my 8889 Tax Form for the HSA, even though I was a subscriber. I talked with Judith from Cigna, and the reference number for the call was **. I explained that most of the contributions were mine, and that I cannot finish my taxes with my accountant until they send me the form. The rep said that I would have to contact my ex even though I told her half a dozen times that I do not have his current contact information since we divorced, though they do since he is still a member. I even provided the required HIPAA information, such as date-of-birth, Social, and offered the account number, since obviously I do not have his card since we have no contact and he has not been compliant in giving me a copy.

Cigna still refused to even contact their member for the form or send me a copy, which is legal documentation that I must have to accurately do my taxes. The rep even told me that they do not have a phone number or contact address on file, which I know is an outright lie, since they do have member information. I explained that I know they cannot give me his information because of HIPAA, but that if they will not send me a copy (they already verified all my membership info and could see that I was indeed on the plan), that they would need to contact him if they will not give me my copy. HIPAA is actually supposed to protect me as a member too, and is not supposed to a shield to hide behind while not providing the required tax documentation for this plan. I am absolutely reporting this noncompliance to our state insurance commissioner as well.

It looks like many places are sabotaging Cigna HMO by presenting it under "referral form issue" and Cigna doesn't do anything about it. Cigna says, "just give them the form they want" but Cigna doesn't provide any data for this form and physician's office cannot just invent it and put it on the referral. And I am not talking about any required authorization, this is just a consultation visit. So, we keep going round in circles and my health problem is being unattended. I don't know who is initiating this issue and who profits but something makes me think that "owls are not what they seem".

They still to date insist that I only have a backache and refuse to acknowledge that my back has been fused even after the doctor has sent them the x-ray showing the fusion that was done in October. I cancelled Cigna today and went with Anthem. Beware of this company. They only want your premium and another thing, Cigna treats you like crap when you are on the telephone with them. They don't treat you nicely. Don't buy this insurance you will be sorry. Stay away!

January 13, Ann ** assured me that she had submitted a request for the problem to be expedited and that it would be corrected that evening. It wasn't. 1 hour on hold.

January 13, received notices stating my husband and I had been disenrolled from the Cigna-HealthSpring Employer Plan. We no longer have prescription coverage or home delivery. Although the letter is dated 1/8/2016, it states that we should continue to use Cigna to fill prescriptions until 1/1/2016?? January 14, Publix still being told I had no coverage. Spoke to Limetra at Cigna who said she knew what the problem was and would take care of it. She also told me that she would call me back. She never called. And she said that if I called, to ask to be connected to her.

I did; I wasn't. 1 hour on hold. January 15, still no coverage. Finally spoke with Joe in Arizona who really seemed concerned and determined to help. 3 hours on hold. January 16, had not taken one of my medications for two days. Was dizzy and disoriented. I hesitated to pay for it because I doubted that I really would be reimbursed. But my husband went to Publix to get it even if he had to pay for it. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the problem had been fixed. Thank you, Joe.

Things I was told: "You do have coverage," "you do not have coverage." "You did not do something you should have done," "all Orange County School retirees have the same situation." "We are very busy this time of year." "We keep meticulous records of conversations. There is no record showing that you spoke to someone. Please hold for a minute or two." Twenty minutes later, "Thank you for being patient, can you hold for just another minute or two. I will get this fixed today. You can call and ask to speak to me." But when I did the response was "Limetra??? Limetra who? No, I cannot connect you to another person." Another problem: The directions to say or enter your ID number, are met with "I do not understand, please enter your ID number again." Time after time, call after call.

My conclusion: Even though I am a retiree, I do not have 7 hours to waste. I am a volunteer GED tutor and participate in city projects. Spending 7 hours on hold is inexcusable. Cigna HealthSpring has major problems. No one appears to know what is going on or what to do. Communication is a major problem; starting over each time I called was ridiculous. It only seems reasonable that Cigna HealthSpring should refund $230.88 for the half month that my husband and I did not have coverage because of Cigna's incompetence. I won't hold my breath.

These denials are clear, it save the company a fortune, we have to choose a company each year before the year ends, but the company doesn't tell you what they will approve until the next year! Great scam. The solution is to cancel and get a new company EVERY YEAR, they will pay the first year and deny every year after.

When I called Cigna the person I talked to claims if there is a problem with the claim they don't keep a record of it so it's not like I can just call and tell them the correct code number over the phone. I have to submit the form again. Even though the code was correct the first time. What happens when I submit the exact same form again? This was our last attempt at IVF and it failed so I wish they could understand how painful and frustrating this is for me to have to deal with a difficult insurance company on top of my loss.

Both of my daughters has now had a dental emergency, the first one, I had to pay full price to the first dentist that would see her "out of network". Yesterday, when my older daughter said her tooth hurt we made an appointment through Cigna at Aspen Dental, they did an Xray, cleaned her teeth and then the dentist came in and said they DON'T DO PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY AND WOULD REFER HER TO ANOTHER DENTIST. (What do you bet it's an out of network dentist?) She will have to wait over the weekend for us to even find out, then we can make her an appointment?! This is the good, more expensive dental insurance offered through my husband's employer.

Cigna makes you do all the leg work. You have to acquire doctor's orders and have them fax it in. You have to get procedure numbers and call the locations to get price quotes. New authorizations have to be given any time you change the law location. All of this stuff we never dealt with through our old insurance. Also I found out this week I'm pregnant. I logged on to the portal to pick a doctor. The first couple listed are not accepting new patients, despite being listed as otherwise on the insurance site. Also halfway between calling I got locked out of my account for an hour because I had the wrong password. So here we are, two weeks into this coverage and my husband can't get his routine scan and I can't get a basic OB visit. RUN! Don't sign on with this company it's a nightmare!

Fast forward to July 2015 and my flare symptoms had been mounting to the extent that I was pulled from work by my doctor. Paperwork was completed and provided in a timely fashion and the usual happened, I was denied. My paperwork was supposedly reviewed by some nurse case manager who recommended that my claim be denied as there was no functional impairment noted by my doctor. I would love to know where a nurse can come off undermining a doctor especially a doctor that has seen me numerous times and a nurse who hasn't done anything but skimmed a few medical records isolated to this event. I was originally told that she would call me within 24 hours but she never called me with any questions. I tracked her down and called her 3 times before I got her on the line and she never asked me ANYTHING.

My original claim that was approved in 2014, a nurse called me and asked me things about my daily limitations, etc. At any rate, my condition does not have any single blood test or any imaging results that would substantiate a physical impairment. The debilitating symptoms to my chronic condition include things such as fatigue, headaches, abdominal pain, etc. These are not things that show up on some medical test. But, I have a chronic condition that is recognized as an auto-immune disease. How dare this company completely disregard, not only my diagnosis, but the fact that they had previously approved 2 leaves for me under the basis of that disease!?

Stress is a huge trigger for my flares and I have been having continuous debilitating flares since I began this process. It is about to be 1/1/16 and I HAVE NOT RECEIVED INCOME SINCE JULY 2015. I pay into this "benefit" as an employee. I have medications I have to take daily and purchase, a household and a child to take care of but no one over there seems to care one bit. It's not in their best practices to pay me since they are an insurance company. I have faith that even if I can't get my claim approved on my own attorneys will. And when that happens, and they pay me what's back owed, I want to know who will fix my credit score, due to my late or nonpayment history? Who will fix my auto insurance rating, for allowing my insurance to lapse due to nonpayment? Who will fix the fact that if I get approved for any type of credit, I am in a higher interest rate bracket due to the fact that while I fell ill to a chronic condition, a benefit that I faithfully paid on time through each pay period, decided to give me the runaround and not pay me for months on end?

The fact that this company can even get away with this crap is astonishing! I called my employer and said, "You know, if you cared about your employees, you would look into this and possibly into a new STD provider." I was responded to with, "I've never had a complaint on them." I provided a link to the Consumer Affairs website page with CIGNA complaints. Everybody wants to limit what they do to their 9-5 and not give an ounce of care towards a person that is not only ill but facing eviction, repossession, no money for food, medicine, etc. at the hands of these very same people who aren't even professionals or practice medicine to determine whether they want to believe or warrant what your doctor deems to be worthy of not being able to work.

It's just insane that this country allows disability insurance companies to practice "business" this way. I'm not BUSINESS, I am a PERSON. I am ill and I need to be able to count on a benefit that I pay into, to keep my household somewhat stable while I heal. I'm not a CLAIM or a CASE, I am a HUMAN. Major reform is needed. Now, I'm facing termination from my job due to being on an unpaid leave since CIGNA has yet to classify my leave as approved. I've made it this far without income, and I will continue to survive long enough to sue this company and get what's owed to me.

I spoke to James and told him I'm trying to see if I have coverage for bariatric surgery. He did some searching and told me that indeed, I was covered for everything minus the full gastric bypass surgery. He walked me through downloading a file called CIGNA_Coverage_Information_and_Codes.PDF as well. I told him I was considering the gastric sleeve and he assured me I was covered. I asked him what I need to do. He told me to find a surgeon I want and have them get in touch with CIGNA and that I'd have to also contact a company called Linkia to give them a surgery code.

I found the surgeon. Called them. They supposedly got a hold of CIGNA. I was told by Maria at the surgeon's office that I had to see a psychiatrist, do a 4 month, doctor-supervised weight loss plan, take a weight loss surgery education, etc. I did every single bit of what I was told to do. When my surgeon's office submitted everything to insurance for approval, I was denied instantly due to "No Coverage" by someone named Sue in pre-authorization. This depressed me pretty big time.

I called on 11/12/2015 and spoke to Gayle who supposedly filled out a BQE (Benefit Quoting Error) form and said a supervisor will review it and contact me within 3 days. 3 weeks went by and I finally was contacted once by voice mail. I called back and left 3 voice mails with days and times to call me but have not heard back from anyone again. I called an attorney and he told me that I can rest assured CIGNA has it documented in small writing that they can't be held liable for verbal quotes as only a written quote is binding. So yes, I lost some weight. Yes, my health improved a little. But I still feel CIGNA should honor their mistake and pay for my surgery. But I'm sure it will never happen.

Finally they got me service coordinator. She was so rude. She told me they would refer me to someone out of network that could take me. They gave me a doctor who's still waiting for information from Cigna. It's another week and still in pain, I called up there again and they still couldn't help me. I asked to speak to the service coordinator Alejandra. They said she couldn't speak to me cause she was on another line. I guess they stay on the phone all the time because she never wants to take my calls...

I called again and they told I had another service coordinator. I got mad again with them and told them I wanted to speak to supervisor. They were also not able to get on the phone because they too are too busy... That's been twice I've asked to speak to supervisor and they don't want to speak to me... Finally I talked to another C.S.R and she stayed on the phone with me thru talking to the endocrinologist office and also with the PCP doctor's office. Lord.. I will be changing signal to another service who cares for my health concerns..

I am very angry at the CIGNA COMPANY. I have lived in pain for the past 2 weeks because of Cigna. Anyone else would have put a gun to their heads in this kind of pain and suffering!!! Now I finally have my meds for over 299 because of my deductible that no one ever told me about in the first place!!! I don't have a receipt because I have not picked up the meds yet!!! CIGNA SUCKS SORRY.

On sign up for logging onto their website, after about 8 attempts to sign up and log on, I gave up and finally called. After over an hour trying to get the right dept, I was told that I was putting in the wrong birthday. Of course, they had the wrong birth date in their files, but would not tell me what wrong date they had, and were not willing to accept any information from me that would correct the situation. Many many calls over several months, finally let to our executive assistant contacting them with more paperwork and supposedly correcting this issue.

Now today again they refused an Rx for a preventative medication (required to cover that) using the excuse that my birth date is incorrect. After almost two years, I sill have vaccinations refused, or 1-2 hours waiting for approvals. This company is so incompetent as to be also guilty of willful negligence. Not once have they attempted to resolve this issue, in spite of having cashed $1350 per month of checks for 23 months now. This will go to the insurance commissioners office. Our group will likely change carriers in January.

I returned home and called the telephone number for Cigna on the back of my card. My call was rerouted four times to get me to the right person, and there were long hold periods from each transfer. One rep (who later transferred me) said that it couldn't be right since Cigna pays Walgreens all the time. The final rep explained that Walgreens is not on the list of approved drugstores for my health plan and that I should have investigated this when I signed up and that I could have left Walgreens and gone to a drug store which took my plan.

I know to check provider lists for doctors and hospitals, but DRUG STORES? Who would think that one of the largest drugstore chains in the country wouldn't be honored by Cigna? I logged into my Cigna account online to see if there was a link to approved drugstores, and there is not. In fact, the link to medical providers on the website for my Cigna account is dead, so I can't look up anything there. There is no way at all for me to find out what drug store(s) I can use with my Cigna health plan.

This is the first time in my life I've ever had a policy I had to shop for, but in all my 63 years in life and all the plans I've had, I've never had to drug store shop to fill a prescription. And now I have Cigna under which I don't know where I can get a prescription filled and no way to find out online. I don't care what drug store I have to use (provided I don't have to drive over 10 miles to find it despite this Walgreens being near my house), but I do care that I had my back to the wall really needing one of those meds really fast on a Friday afternoon and not knowing who Cigna would pay for it and figuring I'd never get hold of the doctor before the weekend to call it in to wherever I might need it called.

It's crap that Cigna will pay Walgreens under some plans but not others (I have Texas individual plan). It's crap that the provider link on the site I login to to see my health plan account is totally and completely dead. It's crap that the telephone number on the back of my insurance card won't connect me with the person/department with whom I need to speak. Lengthy hold times are crap. A lot of us are doing our own plan shopping for the first time in our lives nowadays. Plan benefit comparisons are mind numbing. The need to search for in network doctors and hospitals is something I think most are familiar with, but having to make sure that a WALGREENS' drug store is covered under the plan is crap.

I have CIGNA's best insurance policy you can have. I work my butt off to pay for my insurance but get treated like I should be overseas in the Middle East. Customer service says "well too bad so sad." Why are hardworking Americans get screwed? In the meantime I am missing work or at work struggling because it's painful. So why do I pay an arm and a leg for insurance when it doesn't work for me? Worst insurance ever.

Today, I was asked by Dave, the absolute rudest of staff I have spoken to, to verify the cause of my husbands accident! With Doctors notes, personal emails from my husband to Cigna and ambulatory reports provided to Cigna in the past, this new request was completely shocking to me! But what has prompted this complaint is the manner in which I was questioned by Dave and my words quoted as though I was the medical authority on my husband's health and the surgery in question. With 2 claims still outstanding, the anesthesiologist paid, surgeon partly paid. After 14 months I can no longer subject myself to the incoordination by Cigna and may have no option but to turn to our Lawyer and the media for help.

I don't have the money to pay out of pocket as I have already paid more the $6,000 in deductibles and out of pocket maxes this year. That doesn't even include the amount they take out of my husband's paycheck every month for this crap insurance. I don't even like going to the doctor, so I certainly am not trying get over on Cigna. I should not have to walk around with an unknown lump in my pelvic region because some goon that isn't a doctor decided not to pay for a test. I truly detest this company!!! By the way, I would give them ZERO STARS if that were an option on this site.

The lady I got on the phone told me that I have to follow protocol, biopsy then Scan with dye. I told her they need the Scan with dye to see where to biopsy. She was very cold hearted and rude. I told her what she could do with her protocol. My HR at my job told me we will be looking to get rid of cigna. So in the mean time I wait, do I have cancer or not, if so is it spreading. Don't know what to do now.

After I check out of the hospital (Hospitalized for 5 days) I am now at the cashier and she tells me Cigna Global did not even call her for the five days. We try to call Cigna Global and are told they will be in the office in 4 hours. At this point I am in pain as I have had surgery and can not sit in the lobby for 4 hours. This is your worst nightmare when dealing with an insurance company. I had to pay for the bill with my credit card while the hospital tried to get Cigna Global to pay the bill. After 7 days Cigna Global would not call them back or pay the bill and I was charged with the entire bill.

The hospital vas very nice about it and stated Cigna Global does this to all of their patients when it comes to paying the bill. This information was provided to me by the Billing Manager when I asked which is the worst insurance company for paying and she said Cigna Global. I asked who is the best and pays on time and she stated Cigna International.

Go to the wrong lab and they will cover $0 and you will get a bill for $3000 worth of blood work. Also, they cover $0 worth of "durable medical devices" until you meet that separate deductible (blood testers, insulin pumps, etc). Apparently the deductible on that is $4000 with this policy before they cover ANYTHING. Colorado will be voting to have a public, single payer insurance option in 2016 and I really, really hope it's the beginning of the end for these diseased corporations. I see you're already rated accurately, so this is really almost a pointless review. Enjoy your unemployment, scumbags.

I admit I got into the workforce late. When I did I worked hard then I got sick after 8 years. I took out this policy after not having coverage other than my job at Apple. Part time benefits are a phenomenal thing. Yeah, Apple. Now CIGNA IS HARASSING ME FOR THE SAME INFO DAILY. What's the agenda! Sorry to rant but I've got enough on my plate. Beware of CIGNA!

Cigna refuses to pay their portion. They keep making excuses. They repeatedly send letters saying that the diagnosis codes are invalid or out-of-date. Then when we call Cigna's Customer Service, they check into it and say the diagnosis codes are perfectly fine and they will re-submit the claim then the same thing happens all over again. They also once used the excuse that they couldn't "read" the claim we submitted - a human could have read it, but I suppose they use only machines. They've also used the excuse that we didn't have the practitioner's name and credentials on the invoices when we clearly did.

It has become apparent to us that Cigna doesn't intend to pay their portion of our out-of-pocket expenses. We are not wealthy people and $8,000 out-of-pocket is a real burden. We spent the money in good faith that Cigna would provide the benefits that we've paid for all these years. A government agency needs to do an investigation into their techniques of repeatedly asking for more and more information while never actually paying out-of-network claims.

Appealed and Cigna approved the back fusion surgery for Oct. 26. Got a call Oct. 15 from doctor's office saying CareAllies wouldn't approve. Who is running the show here??? I called CareAllies and talked to a "middle person" telling me one reason Care Allies won't approve the fusion surgery is they would not approve the "screws" part of the surgery? (I don't believe it's the kind of screws being used.) So how do the rods stay in place? My husband is getting the screwing!

Summary that was sent to doctor's office states a peer-to-peer conversation can happen. When the doctor's office called CareAllies to do this, they said they couldn't do that without a 2nd appeal. The appeal is in the works. We will see what happens. I have never had any problem, nor has my family, with any other insurance company. Not sure what our premiums pay for. Someone needs to investigate this company or whatever it is. Very unhappy and feel for my husband who is in so much pain and is still trying to work. Wonder if something will or has happened to any of their employees? I have read many of the complaints. I feel for all those people that are in pain!

Updated on 10/22/2015: I shared a complaint about Cigna-CareAllies on this page 10/16/15. LetUsHelpU@cigna.com responded 10/20 to research this. My response: I appreciate you looking into this. My husband is a hard worker and continues to deliver the mail in pain! He can hardly walk when he gets home after work because he is weak and in pain. Dr. says he can help him. My husband has tried shots, therapy, back brace, exercises, pain meds and nothing is working. He wants to continue working, but if this is not resolved, he will have to go on disability and it sounds like, from other reviews, Cigna or Care Allies will not approve that either. Waiting to hear back. Maybe the next step is to get a lawyer or talk to the Attorney General. Feel for all of you out there in pain and paying premiums with no results. Keep trying!

I called on 10/9/15 and after 15 minutes continually being told to "please hold" I was told there is nothing for me in "the system." I am now overdue reimbursement of nearly $1,000 and no one is even admitting they have my paperwork. Total and complete scam. You pay for dental coverage, but their incompetence makes sure you never get reimbursed. They have no problem taking my money though.

It was over a month before I heard back in July and mind you this was after much effort on my part of voicemails and emails to my "caseworker" who knows how long it would've taken without some pushing. Since then I have been fighting to receive the checks. Every month I'm fighting so hard to get the money that is owed. I send her 10 emails to every 1 of her informative responses. More than a handful of times she promised me she will get back to me the next morning with an update and never does even after I remind her in the afternoon that I was due a morning update and it never came.

I am a disabled single mother of 2. I can't drive because I can hardly see. I can't hold/grasp anything in my hands or they go numb. I am completely incontinent (mind you I am only 27) if I sit, kneel, cross my legs. Anything other than keeping my legs raised, they go numb and I can't walk. I have horrible cramping and spasticity in my toes and fingers making it impossible to type and write for long, plus many other things. There is absolutely no way I could hold a job. My neurologist and my primary also side with this conclusion. Yet here I sit, 5 months after my last day of work and the last date that was approved was July 28th. That's 48 business days without any form of income or way to get one. If you're paid bi-weekly that's 5 paychecks behind, that's absolutely horrible.

I have begged, I have pleaded and it all falls on deaf ears. I have been so nice, I have never lost my temper, I'm always polite, yet concise. This company cares absolutely zero about you. It's been proven with the dozens of unanswered emails and 48 work day lapse in a check. If you are a business I would strongly recommend you go somewhere else than Cigna to cover your employees. This experience has caused me so much stress and fatigue, the exact things I am to try to stay away from. Ironic, huh?

Fast forward, mid Sept. after hearing, no response from the insurer. My wife called and was told they had no knowledge of our paperwork fax, then it was found and they would get back with us. No contact was made, meanwhile my wife's infusion date of Oct. 1st was getting nearer. I spoke to my supervisor, who spoke to his supervisor and so on. No communication from Cigna, wife calls them. Home visits are approved but not the medicine. Wife calls again, Cigna states they have spoken with the doctor and want to run more tests even though the doctor states that the wife would need to go off the medicine for four months to get reliable results, a lapse that could put her health at risk. This is a nightmare and there is no end in sight. Definitely not a good start for a employer/employee relationship. All due to this too big insurer and a company that has no control over them.

My doctor sent her my most current labs. She said this would be enough for my claim to be re-instated, instead she closed the claim and said that my labs were normal, but my A1C is currently at 11.4. I really think this company is garbage!! I have tried calling on several different occasions, and spoke to several reps that claimed to pass on my information to ** and no call back. This is adding stress and frustration to an already difficult time that I'm dealing with. It also adds to elevated blood levels in my system. I intend to keep writing whoever will listen until this company is held accountable for their actions, or lack thereof!!

This week my wife was having headaches and memory problems. We went to emergency room and a MIR was given. They found three brain tumors which turned out to be cancer. So we then went to oncologist who ordered a PET scan and radiation treatments ASAP. PET scan was order to determine if cancers had spread to other parts of the body, but again Cigna denied the PET scan claiming since cancer had spread there was no reason to do PET scan. I just don't get it... It seems they deny everything you need. It seems they are trying to kill my wife. If these early procedure would have been approved we would have detected cancer soon enough to treat it successfully thus at least giving her a chance to live.

I tell them about the law that was recently passed and they play dumb with me, saying they know nothing about it and treating me like I don't know what I'm talking about and I'm crazy, trying to bs me through this. I am already about to be in debt for life from student loans, I do not need to be paying over $300 a year for the pill. And Cigna is provided by my mother's employer, so I can't just drop it and switch to a different one. Fml.

Got everything resolved to a point where I expected my RX's to be sent and the online record showed they were, but when I called today, they said nothing has been sent because I needed another prior authorization. Today I've been on the phone again and my doctor did a new authorization and I was told everything was good to go EXCEPT, Cigna HealthSpring does not notify the pharmacy that everything has been approved! When I called the Cigna Home Pharmacy, they couldn't locate the approval for all meds UNTIL I offered to provide them with an approval code.

Next I was told they would mail all the meds but they couldn't give me the copay amount because the computer program was not accessible. I've been told this twice before. Since the cost was accessible two months ago when I was selecting plans, I find this very strange. With all the technology available, there is little justification as to why employees' information is compartmentalized to this extent. I've been on the phone so much, I feel like I work for Cigna. My advice to anyone is if you don't have 3-4 weeks to wait for medications and several hours to spend on the phone talking to each individual network to straighten out the same information, run the other way. Everyone is very nice to speak with but they aren't being provided with the tools they need to adequately communicate internally in the best interest of their customers.

Original Review: Aug. 3, 2015

Six months ago, my 9 year old son slipped and fell on the ice (we live in Chicago area), resulting in the loss of one of his permanent front teeth. We rushed him to his dentist, who kept his office open late to help us get quick assistance. After driving as fast as possible through the icy streets, our dentist carefully re-implanted my son's existing tooth and placed three stitches in his mouth.

We were feeling really proud of ourselves for getting this done… until we started dealing with Cigna. First, they denied the dental claim. They said it should be submitted under our medical insurance, which is also with Cigna. We had to file a separate medical claim. Then we went back and forth with Cigna's medical unit because our dentist is not a medical provider and didn't know the answers to a lot of their questions. After six months of ongoing headaches, Cigna now says they won't pay the claim because our dentist is not in their MEDICAL network (hello… he is a dentist.)

Did I mention that our claim was less than $500, and the only "medical" alternative at that time of day would have been to take him to an emergency room, where he would have certainly lost the tooth (due to delay in re-implanting) and Cigna would have received a nice hefty bill? Very disappointing.

So he said "can't you take a verbal order with my IMS number and my other info?" They're going back and forth this. Dr. saying "ma'am I have other patients waiting. Can I speak to a supervisor?" They said no. They gonna tell you the same thing then they hung up. He told me "please drop that insurance. All my patients are complaint when your Dr. can't get nowhere with these people." What the hell. They need to change their policy and get better reps handling customer service issues.

In June of 2015, I began contacting Cigna (and of course, spoke with a different rep each time and had to explain each time all that had transpired) and their response, from each rep that I spoke with was that they needed more information and when I stated, "I just gave it to you" their response was "oh yes, I see that here now and I will get with processing and see what is going on." I would then request that they call me and let me know what processing has to say (Oh, I forgot, they always told me when I requested, that I could not speak with processing).

Of course, I never received a call back from them. Today I went into my Cigna account to check on the claim and there was a "new" "Dental Claim Detail" showing a new claim number with the claim received date of 7-10-15 and a claim processed date of 7-10-15. I immediately contacted my dentist and verified that they had not sent in a new claim. Wow - I have copies of three different "dental claim detail" forms with each showing a different claim numbers and different received and processed dates.

A dentist expects to be paid within 90 days. Cigna states they have 30 to 45 days to process and pay, which is reasonable, but what is going on with Cigna when they take an extreme excess amount of time to pay? Is it incompetent employees? Is it poor management? Is it that they cannot afford to pay claims? Is it they just do not care about their enrollees and just do not pay? Whatever it is, it definitely needs to be corrected.

The correction process begins with our State Insurance Commissions (this office may be called by different names in different states, but each state has an office that regulates insurance companies). Each individual that has problems should keep copies of everything, document the date, time, name of person and what was said on each contact and file a complaint with your state insurance regulation office. I urge each individual who may have a 'legitimate' problem with any insurance company to document, document, document, and file a complaint with your state insurance regulator. Phone numbers for these offices can be obtained by phoning the state information number in your local phone directory and requesting this number. The regulatory office will provide you with guidelines and instructions.

Original Review: July 10, 2015

I think my story is exactly like Lynn from Maine below. I had extensive work done on Feb 10, 2015. Cigna has delayed payment since. The dentist office swears they sent all info in as requested. Finally the dentist office held me accountable and I had to pay the balance Cigna still has not paid. Every time I talk to them, they say they are escalating the claim to be processed in two days.

On Wed evening this week I spoke to Jessica and she stated that my claim was with an adjuster. Then today I called the first time and the girl told me that she did not see that and it has not been escalated but she escalated then. I paid my dental bill upfront in the beginning minus what my dentist office said would be covered. I paid 6892 bucks. All Cigna needs to pay is the remainder 682 dollars. It has been 6 months. Here's the kicker, I have started recording their conversations on my iPhone to get their info and have copies of exactly what they said. It has gotten old for me. I will try again next week and keep calling. I keep asking for reference numbers as well and they are very hesitant to give. Look, I'm not saying that they are crooks but this is ridiculous. Hopefully my persistence will pay off. If anyone else or Lynn below sees this please let me know what else you did.

Just looked at "What you may owe" for a over 50 colonoscopy and it's 100% if they don't find any polyps and if polyps are removed it's considered "Diagnostic" and you're charged for the removal of each polyp. What's the point but they did offer sending me a kit which is nothing more than a stool sample kit and wouldn't detect non-cancerous polyps. It's the worse of the worse and will definitely be dropping this POS when open enrollment comes around. It's a good plan if you have a catastrophic illness (What's the % of that happening unless you're over 70) and the customer service is great, "At telling you your copay is almost as much if you paid out of pocket 100% for routine care?"

His job is a line technician in a big factory. He works on electrical components and big machinery. Now due to his headaches, with memory loss and shaky hands he can't do that job anymore. Cigna refused his long term disability! He appealed it and they still refused! His doctors are dumbfounded, one of them even talked to the person my husband was going through over the phone on the loudspeaker so everyone could hear trying to make them understand what my husband is going through and what did they need to do to help. Well it didn't work. Cigna just plain out sucks! They have those commercials on TV, well don't listen to them.

My husband has been paying for long-term disability for years in case he did have to use it, all that money paid out was for nothing. We should have known this though because I received a broken neck in a car wreck in 2007, had to have surgery I also have nerve and muscle damage. I also tried to use my long term disability but was also denied. I couldn't go back to work due to my injuries. So people beware, if you are paying Cigna for long term disability find some other company because you will get screwed!!!

It is very confusing to me that I have dizziness and it is documented about my passing out yet they feel that I can work. The pain since I had this bout of flu has been debilitating and there is no relief in sight. I am a retiree of Wilson Hospital and had 8 surgeries during that time. I never had a lapse in a paycheck and my short-term disability automatically kicked in after my sick time was all used up. I call at least 2-3 times a week to Cigna and track down my doctors for more documentation. I went to my doctors office today to get another 16 pages of documentation for Cigna. I want to give up. So now I am sick, am going to lose my apartment and maybe my car and they are giving me a hard time. Do not sign up with Cigna, they will fight you tooth and nail for the benefits you are supposed to get from your workplace.

Here we are in 2015 and I am going through my fourth acute Mononucleosis infection, on bed rest, and had to take time off from work again. The onset of this was prior to May, but I'd been working full time for over a month taking intermittent FMLA. Now anyone with half a brain could see that I was missing more and more days, and was unable to continue. I'm still in the middle of an active infection, and have an upper respiratory infection on top of this which is making it ever more contagious... and the only thing you can do for Mono is rest and drink fluids.

So my STD benefit case manager calls me up yesterday and says "Is your job mostly sedentary?" I know where this is all going Cigna, and I cannot believe you are doing this to me again. This time, I'm prepared. I took a loan out, and you'll be hearing from my lawyer the moment you try and deny me. Your company has no integrity! I am disappointed in my employer for choosing to work with you and perhaps they will also be hearing from my attorney. I have a viral infection that is contagious and I have done nothing but sleep 20 hours a day for the past week. If you think for one moment I'm going to let you do this to me again you are sadly mistaken. See you in court.

They sure do have a lot of ** working for them. Rather than getting frustrated over the whole thing, I've decided that I'm better off to not take them so seriously, though I think that they might be intentionally trying to waste my time. At least I'm still getting the paper statements sent to me... that I usually don't even open. Those go straight into the trash. As soon as they make an attempt to pull their heads out of their @sses, I figure I'll go to electronic statements... until then, I guess that they can keep wasting their resources on hard copies since I waste so much of my time double checking their work. PS... their website isn't very good either.

After returning home, I received a letter signed from Dr. ** stating that my admission was "medically unnecessary". I called Care Allies/Cigna for an explanation and I was told by their representative that "Dr. ** felt that I could have been treated on an "outpatient basis". I advised the representative that I went to my physician prior to being "taken" by ambulance to the hospital. The representative advised that I should have my physician send a report to Care Allies/Cigna. My physician sent the report April 2015, I then received a letter from the medical director, **, DO upholding Dr. **'s position from March 2015.

I am currently on my second appeal to get my medical bills paid (I pay more than 3,000.00) in premiums to have health coverage. No one from Care Allies/Cigna has examined me, or done what any other health professionals would do and that is pick up the phone to talk to my physician or the hospital for that matter. All proactive communication has been initiated by my physician or myself. The "peer to peer" staff at Care Allies/Cigna is there to "hold your hand." What good is that when these peers aren't reaching into their pockets to help pay these medical bills? I need about $80,000 to pay my medical expenses and I'm waiting for the "peers" to divvy up their share.

I have talked to several co-workers and they are receiving the same response from Care Allies/Cigna "not medically necessary". As an asthmatic I want to know what is "medically necessary", I guess being on a Bipap machine isn't "medically necessary", I have to wait until I'm incubated for it to be deemed "medically necessary". If I take the lead of Care Allies/D. **, I need to file malpractice charges against the entities that actually examined me, my physician, EMT, the ER physicians and the hospital that treated me because the services they provided were "medically "unnecessary"! Come on, give me a break, I smell a Care Allies/Cigna/Dr. ** lawsuit.

When I called Cigna, even the supervisor would not help me. First she told me that drug price had probably gone up in one day. Then she said I misunderstood what I was told. I told her to go replay the taped conversation of original quote. She refused. She finally admitted customer service rep misread the computer screen and gave me bad info. Not $116.32. I am stuck paying $582.90 for the next 6 months until 12/31/15 when you try to find a new and better drug company. This is how Cigna handles complaints. She told me a quote means nothing and that they do not stand behind a quote. Great customer service.

DME - sleep apnea supplies: I have sleep apnea and have been using a CPAP for 10 years. I have been working since February (it is now June) to get a new mask. Should be no out of pocket expenses. I have a prescription from my sleep doc. Still I can't get CareCentrix to give me the name of an approved DME supplier. I have tried eight documented times.

Approvals for procedures: One day in April, I went into my oncology clinic for chemo infusion. My doc was concerned about a possible problem with my lungs. He wanted me to get a CT scan before giving my the chemo that day. It took 3 days for Cigna to approve the scan in advance. Waiting for Cigna set my chemo treatments back a whole week. My doc wasn't happy, I wasn't happy. Before you decide on a group or individual policy with Cigna, I urge you to think twice. Read the complaints here. I have experienced many more issues that are reflected in other complaints.

They will only approve a power chair with one option and will not elevate my legs to a degree that is medically necessary. I cannot exert myself or lift or push with my low oxygen and heart. Nothing matters to these people. If you do not fit in their box as a certain diagnoses they will not give you the quality medical item you need according to 5 specialists. I went through the same thing getting medications approved 5 tries on several of them. They have made me more stressed and ill just dealing with them. We used to have first choice and I had NO problems ever with anything being approved. The care ally’s help compared to first choice advocates in the worst. I so hate this insurance company.

I live in Lansing Illinois which is located in Cook County. I went through your obstetrics section and scheduled appointments only to be turned away when I arrived at the doctor's offices, some were nice enough to call me prior to my appointments and inform me that they did not accept Cigna-HealthSpring although I clearly had gotten their numbers from your directory. The last of your so-called affiliated physicians, **, allowed me to drive 45 minutes out of my way to tell me they don't accept any of my insurances and an appointment would be $500, out-of-pocket if I saw him that day. I did not have the money and had no choice but to leave. I ended up in the emergency room who referred me to a Small clinic which is where I learned that my baby's heart had stopped beating at 9 weeks.

I was 3 months pregnant, and visiting the clinic for a pre-natal check up and routine ultrasound. Cigna's negligence didn't allow me to see an obstetrician and my baby died, in me, and remained inside of me for 3 additional weeks. I was ordered to the emergency room STAT, by the clinic's Nurse practitioner. They admitted me, kept me overnight and scheduled surgery for the following morning in order to remove my unborn child and dissect him like a specimen. It has been a week since this all occurred and I just received a bill from the hospital for $8,062.64. If I had a health insurance company that maintained better records of in-network physicians my child would be alive and my fiance and I would still be preparing for our child's arrival, but I had Cigna and it took me months to find a doctor because you don't care enough to know who your doctors are! I will be sharing this information, Thanks!

Is this a scam or what. I have had sooooo much crab from Cigna. Not sure who and how they ever do business. At the end of all this I end up paying myself and kept paying my insurance every pay period. Insurance is Just in case things happen you are cover. I tell this now. I need an insurance that covers when my insurance don't pay. See the Joke is on me every time --- Pay insurance principal and pay service providers... Cigna Now equals to nothing to me… Maybe this won't matter but for anyone reads this and cares I DON’T DON’T DON’T advice to go with Cigna.

Original Review: June 1, 2015

My husband recently had dental work that involved root canal, tooth extraction, x-rays, bone replacement graft, crown placement and impressions. All this treatment was done at a participating Endodontial Practice 2 hours from our home because it was the closest Cigna provider. Inconvenient. Treatment began on November 26,2014. Cigna claim was submitted by treating dental office on this date. On January 21, 2015 dental office called Cigna regarding outstanding claim. Dental office was told claim was "under review", but Cigna needed additional information. Dental office sent additional information as directed.

On February 11, 2015 Dental office called Cigna again for current status of claim. Was told Cigna needed other additional information to process claim. Dental office sent requested info to Cigna. Dental office told claim would take 30-45 business day to process. On March 5, 2015 Dental office received a request from Cigna for information that had been sent to Cigna prior. Dental office called Cigna and spoke to ins. rep. who verified they (Cigna) had all the information they needed and claim was being processed, which would take 30-45 business days.

On March 16, 2015 Dental office received another request for other additional information, which had already been sent to Cigna. Dental office told claim being processed, will take 30-45 business days. On April 14, 2015 Dental office received another request for more info. from Cigna. On May 13, 2015 Dental office received denial from Cigna. Dental office closed claim (over 90 day expectation) and sent bill to me for full amount due.

Meanwhile I had received notices from Cigna stating that dental procedure claim was being processed, that there were no problems noted. Until mid-May when I received Explanation of Benefits for the claim processed on May 5, 2015 stating that claim was denied due to lack of information. I called Cigna customer service on May 18, 2015 - Cigna representative acknowledged receipt of all needed information on claim and stated she would "escalate the issue" which should take 2 business days and check should be received at dental office in 7-10 business day.

On May 21, 2015 called Cigna to verify process was moving along. Was told to call next week for update. On June 1, 2015 called Cigna for update. Was told claim not processed, appears not all information available. I asked to speak to a Supervisor. Supervisor reviewed Cigna notes and acknowledged that all information was present. Supervisor stated that she would "expedite" the claim with documentation numbers for each procedure. She stated that this "expedited" process should take no longer than 10 business days and she has offered to call me with update if claim is done prior to the 10 business day mark. I will call Cigna, again, if I do not hear from them by June 15th, 2015. I am annoyed and frustrated. # 1 Nearest Cigna Provider for services needed 2 hours away. # 2 Claim process crazy bad. Cigna customer service personnel very polite.

I admitted to them that I was a foreign student in the university. So what? They are a BIG company and did not care the concern from a powerless person like me. They are so arrogant. To be honest, I felt hurt and I felt that I was discriminated. I felt as sick as eating flies. If they responded politely, I will not post my horrible experience in the website. They just did not want to spend time helping customers.