Cigna Health Insurance Reviews

ZOLL is the ONLY manufacturer in the entire world that manufactures this Life Vest, so it is not like my husband's IN-network cardiologist had a list of providers to choose from for this life saving treatment during that 90 days. He wore this vest until that 90-day waiting period was up, and he had the ICD implanted. And back in September, we received a letter from ZOLL stating that Cigna considered this vest as an OUT OF NETWORK device, when again it is the only one made in the world and FDA approved for conditions like my husband's. When my husband called Cigna, he got the typical run around but NO viable reason why they were considering this as an OUT OF NETWORK device. Basically, their answer was because we can so deal with it, although ZOLL told us that this was highly unusual and they didn't have this problem with other insurance companies.

The following day after I made my initial complaint on this site, I get an email from Consumer Affairs that I had received a response from someone named Ann at Cigna, that she would like to help me and look into this problem. Well, I sent her all of my husband's information, and she assured me that she was researching this. That was on September 20th, and we received a bill from ZOLL on Saturday the 12th of October, with the amount that we owed, which was the OUT OF NETWORK charges. I contacted Ann today through her email, and asked what was going on because in all of this time I had heard nothing from her, but told her we got this bill, so I assumed that they had decided against our appeal, without letting us know.

Well, I was outraged to get a reply back from this Ann after almost a month of her supposedly looking into this problem, saying basically she had done NOTHING, because she does not have access to my husband's records. EXCUSE ME!!!!! This woman tells me she is looking into this claim and now almost a month later tells me that she has done NOTHING because she has no access to his records, and thus has to have someone else look into it! Anyone here who has filed a complaint against this unscrupulous company, and gets a reply from Ann or someone else lying about being able to look into the matter and help you resolve it, PLEASE REALIZE THIS! This is nothing but a STALL TACTIC, like I suspected from the beginning.

While you think that someone actually is looking into your claim, NO ONE IS DOING ANYTHING BUT STALLING UNTIL YOUR TIME IS UP FOR FILING AN APPEAL! When I got that reply back from her after almost a month telling me she didn't even have access to his records, I immediately said ENOUGH and filed a complaint with the Missouri Insurance Board, and I urge anyone else here to do the same with their state, because this company will NOT do anything to help you. However, in the state of Missouri at least, once a complaint has been filed, the company is forced to respond within a limited amount of time to the state, so they can't play their stall and screw the consumer game.

As I said in my original complaint on this board, I know full well that Cigna decided that this Life Vest was an OUT OF NETWORK claim because my husband had already reached his out of pocket cap for IN-network claims this year, meaning they would be responsible for the entire bill; however, he had not reached his out of pocket cap for OUT OF NETWORK expenses, since he is always diligent to make sure that he always uses IN-network providers. This is just another screw the consumer game being played by this company. AGAIN, do NOT be deluded if any of you file a complaint against this company here, and you quickly get a reply that someone will help you and look into it BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT AND IT IS A STALL TACTIC!

In my state, we kept up the pressure, and we finally succeeded in having the Cigna office closed, and their policies are no longer an option for state employees and retirees. "What goes around, comes around." In my own case, when I went to any healthcare provider, I identified myself as "uninsured, private pay," for a while, until there was an open enrollment period and I could switch to a better company. Interestingly, during the period when I was appealing, I wrote to Cigna and sent two copies, one to the main address, and another identical letter to the medical advisor, at the same address, and marked it "Personal and Confidential." Later, I got two responses, in separate envelopes, mailed on the same day from the same address, one approving my claim, and another denying the appeal. I photocopied both, sent them back to Cigna, and let them know which one I was accepting, and let them know exactly what I thought of this company.

Due to the major problems with CIGNA on my colonoscopy, when I went in for a prostate screen this past spring, I first contacted CIGNA to ensure (a) my doctor and provider were in network and (b) the procedure was covered at 100% as preventive, and (c) I asked for the insurance codes up front. CIGNA provided a Prostate Screen Diagnostic Code of V76.44.

When I went to the provider, I requested, in writing "prostate screen procedure V76.44, pre-approved as wellness preventive procedure per CIGNA". After taking all these precautions, you would think this procedure would be billed by the provider and paid by CIGNA as a preventive Prostate Screen. How silly of me to assume this would be the case. CIGNA says, your provider sent in the V76.44, but this is a diagnostic code, not a Preventive CPT code, they need to send in a preventive CPT code. I contacted the provider, contacted CIGNA. After 15 calls to both, a full 12-page appeal, CIGNA still denies the claim.

My opinion is that CIGNA treats preventive and wellness only as a marketing gimmick, they really have no intention of paying for claims, should you actually try to get these procedures done... Buyer beware.... My recommendation, is that you ensure that your insurance carrier and provider are 100% clear on the CPT code to be used, any time you get a "preventive" procedure done. It will be tricky, because CIGNA claims they cannot give the provider the code, but if you look on their website, you can find a 12-page guide on CPT codes for preventive care. Also be careful. Insurance codes are CPT codes for procedure, Diagnostic codes for diagnosis, and lab codes for labs performed. The CPT code MUST be preventive or CIGNA will say "our hands are tied". If this saves one person from going through what I did, it is worth my time.

At no time did Cigna ever advise us that they considered this device to be an OUT of network claim, and we only found out this week, when we got a letter from Zoll, the ONLY company in this country that manufacturers and rents out these devices for patients like my husband that Cigna decided that this claim was an OUT of network claim. Zoll advised us that this is highly irregular, since there is no other company that manufacturers this device, and it is a critical life saving device for heart failure patients waiting for their implantation of an ICD, which is so convenient for Cigna, since he had reached his out of pocket cap for IN network claims and the cap for out of network claims is much higher.

I must say that we have nothing but praise for Zoll as they seem to be the only ones who cared enough to let us know of Cigna's decision, and they sent us a copy of the letter they sent to Cigna, alerting them that their company was appealing this decision on our behalf. When we called Zoll and asked them if this was unusual for an insurance company to pull this ** that the claim was considered OUT of network, they said YES, it was highly unusual and he further said, and I quote, "Cigna is a bunch of **s."

When we called Cigna for an explanation, they basically had none and basically told us that they did it because they could. No they did it ONLY because my husband had reached his in network out of pocket cap and they didn't want to have to pay for the entire claim, so they just claim it is OUT of network so we will owe THOUSANDS of dollars, which the benevolent Zoll has told us we could pay off slowly with NO INTEREST. Zoll has no reason why they should care about helping my husband, since they are a corporation who just wants to get their claim paid, and yet here they are helping us while Cigna basically told my husband to ** off.

Thankfully, working for USPS, my husband has other choices and come December, when he can change insurance for next year, our message right back to Cigna will be the very same ** off that they basically told my husband. We are also going to file a complaint with the Missouri Insurance Board on Cigna because I once had to do that concerning our homeowners insurance and they were great with helping me and very fast at sending the company notice that I had filed a claim and they had two weeks to reply.

My message to anyone else here who has the misfortune of having Cigna as their health insurance is don't back down and find out how to file a complaint about them with your state insurance board since all 50 states have them. Cigna is EVERYTHING bad that you hear about unscrupulous health insurance companies, and they deserve to be driven out of business. I have even read complaints from former employees of theirs about their one week training and how they are trained to not help you but to get you off the phone as fast as they can, and to deny every claim they can.

But now I am getting a notice from Cigna that I have to pay all the money which had been spent from the debit card. I am calling them but they are putting me on hold for hours and getting fed up. I am unable to hold for hours. CIGNA IS NOT ACCESSIBLE. I AM calling them for last 4 days since I have got this letter. Despite claiming that they are available 24/7, they are not picking up and letting me go on a wild-goose chase with their faulty IVR.

Me and my new employer are paying thousands to Cigna every month but their behavior and conduct is very bad and unacceptable. As a big corporate, they even do not have an email assistance, which is deplorable. My ears are aching calling to them. By now, I have memorized their auto-generated voice messages like "please enter your number", "please enter your SSN", etc., but the call goes nowhere.

And I strongly believe that this money they are asking is mine. My previous employer has given them money and I can use it until the 1500 lasts. I am complaining here as a last resort. Not sure how they are surviving as an entity with this kind of highhandedness. And biggest irony is they are in health-related business.

I learned about neuro-stimulator implant surgery last year after a friend with chronic migraines had this done and it reduced her migraine pain by 90%. I found a doctor who works with my neurologist and is very experienced at doing this and thought it was very likely to help my pain. A trial is first done, and if it works, the stimulators are permanently surgically implanted.

Cigna, however, denied the trial for the procedure, saying that it is "experimental". It is their policy that they do not cover any "experimental" procedures. An appeal was put together and was denied for the same reason. I am in constant pain, however, and on a lot of medication, and my family (who are not wealthy by any means) paid for the trial themselves. I am a teacher and had a very difficult time making it through the school days and year last year despite loving my job, not to mention my quality of life with this pain.

I was relieved and very happy that the trial has been very successful and significantly helped my pain. I called Cigna to ask if a trial paid for out of pocket that is successful would change Cigna's decision and the customer rep still replied that despite any trial results and/or statement by my doctor, it is still "experimental" and the permanent surgery would not be covered. "You can still appeal to a higher level, but it is still experimental and Cigna won't cover it for that reason".

Chronic migraines have almost no proven treatments other than FDA approved Botox. There is very little you can do for the immense pain other than take handfuls of pills and hope they will be somewhat effective. There is finally something I have found that really helps and could change my quality of life. I have done the experiment and proven it works for me, and Cigna will not do the humane and right thing by approving it.

When I called up CIGNA, waiting for about 90 minutes, the customer care person told that the doctor was out of network. I had to submit a claim and post it (or fax it; in this age they do not do online claims). I faxed them and for many days, there was no response. Then one day, I realized from their website that we can submit online which I did. Their own employees did not know about this. Then my wife's claim of $30 was accepted but my $30 was rejected. I did not understand the logic. Then for the $50 spent on refraction, I had to send another fax with all procedure details to CIGNA Vision separately. Ideally, this should be handled internally. It was gross mental torture. I called them 25 to 30 times and average waiting times had been 45 - 60 minutes. And I have not received the $30 which was accepted, as yet. To sum up my concerns to CIGNA:

Why did CIGNA list the doctor as in network when they are out of network? Why do they not resolve reimbursement TO PATIENTS internally (between medical and dental)? Why do their own employees not know about online reimbursement? Why was my spouse's claim accepted and mine not accepted, considering that I am the primary employee? Typical caller to health insurers are people with physical conditions. Why is their system so lousy that one has to wait for hours to talk to employees who are not even informed properly?

I found out, after a dentist visit, that I had not been put on dental at all! This is after I had upgraded my plan to get dental and they had been charging me for it! Nobody ever calls me back! When I call, they never fix the problem even though they put me on hold for 10 to 15 minutes, more than 3 times a call! This wastes my entire day! They end up saying that someone else will be calling me soon! It is obvious that nobody there knows anything at all and they all try to push it to another person, just so they can hang up on you!

Just now (February 22, 2013), I called them back to cancel it and the rep that I talked to said that I have been cancelled since December 8, 2012! So why in the world did they cash my check for more than $400 on the end of January? Unbelievable! We will be following up with the Texas State Attorney General.

Just today, Jan. 10, 2013, I called about claims for last year. I finally spoke to a supervisor, who advised me I was never quoted for naturopathic benefits. They do a recording but because it's so far back, they cannot pull this information (this is a common theme with them). They are completely dishonest and will have the patient and doctors eat up all the cost, while they keep billing patients and employers the premiums. They are unreliable as well as deceitful. Do not buy this insurance!

I have not even met my deductible this year in doctor visits and they can't pay for my prescriptions! They give me 5 meds I could take that are covered, and they all pretty much interact with my seizure meds. In the meantime, I am stuck with calling the doctor and the drug stores and the insurance company to try to figure this all out. One lady at the insurance said just work with your doctor on getting another med that works with what you’re taking! What does she think that a doctor has time to just drop seeing his patients to figure out what to do with me? It will be days before I will ever get anything done because the doctor has to say that I need this med and they still have to approve. And if I am put on something else, I don't know if it will even work or if it will mess up other meds that I am on! I hate Cigna!

Frankly, I'm not impressed with Cigna's response time or denial of my application simply because of marijuana. Come on guys, don't make me call you just to get an explanation. Just come out and say it, and certainly don't make stuff up like prescription usage. Use of marijuana in any form for any reason is grounds for automatic denial.

I submitted online reimbursement request with supporting documentation one month before rollover deadline. Two weeks later, I received a letter (with my account number on it no less!) that said it did not know who I was and that I had "no account with Cigna." No kidding. When I called the customer support line, I was assured I had plenty of funds (well duh, I could see them myself online), and that I should send my request directly to the CSR with whom I was dealing, who would "take care of it for me." I was told not to use online request anymore because he "wasn't sure what happened." After faxing it to his direct line, I heard nothing for one week. I called again, and CSR who took my call connected with prior CSR who claimed he didn't get the request. I faxed it to her direct line and insisted she call me as soon as she received it. I received a call from her later that day assuring me everything was fine. I called two weeks later to inquire as to why I never received a check. I was told I submitted it after 90 days.

I told this CSR the whole story again, and she said she was "sending a note" to the Claims department and to expect the check shortly. She assured me everything was taken care of. I received a call myself a week later from CSR reporting that Claims department determined they received the request from the second CSR one day too late. I asked about all my other prior attempts and they said since they had no "proof" that I sent anything, they couldn't count those attempts. I nearly bit off my tongue blustering at CSR, who told me I needed to send over transmission verifications reports to the Claims Adjusters if I wanted it paid to me. I asked about who the heck sent me the letter claiming they didn't know who I was in the first place when I first submitted an online request, and she told me, after speaking with the "Internet Department," that they have - get this, "no way of seeing when I ever submitted an online request or if I was sent a response."

What?! I asked if there was any way to speak with someone in the Claims Department since the CSR correspondence clearly meant nothing and she said, I love this, "They don't have any phones in the Claims Department." What do they use, carrier pigeons? After filling a formal complaint during this call from Cigna, I asked when I would next get follow-up on my issue. She said, "We have a special unit that investigates, but no one will call you back." Really! I'm shocked. This is a nearly criminal way to conduct business in my opinion. I'm at the point where I just don't care anymore, because the hours I've spent faxing and on the phone aren't even worth it at this point for the reimbursement I want. If you discover your prospective employer offers CIGNA, I would definitely seek out other options for insurance coverage.

Cigna, get a grip! Customer service is about providing information on the web, the phone, mobile apps, etc. It's about helping customers to get engaged with their healthcare and at the most basic level that means finding a provider and then understanding what services are offered and then what they cost. If I had the choice to go with another insurer, I most definitely would. But of course, I have no choice as this is the only insurance my company offers. Great healthcare system we have here in the U.S!

I think it's time to take my complaint higher, to state insurance commissioner? Is there a Federal office to complain to? With the new health care law, insurance companies are making us pay for the increased costs they're incurring, by covering kids in college and no more preexisting conditions, etc. And beware for another interesting thing to watch for. You know how we all get preventative check-ups at no charge?

Well, my doctor not only billed us for the annual no-charge physical, he double-billed it as an office visit because "we discussed a medical condition". How do you go to an annual physical and not talk to your doctor about your medical condition? And Cigna processed it both ways! Isn't it a law that the annual checks are no charge? Aren't the insurance companies supposed to uphold this law (if that's what it is, or if it's not a law, at least it's a benefit)? Do we need clarification that we can't speak to the doctor during the exam?

I just hate these people. Last time they told me they were not covering my annual visit, which was part of my plan. They just suck money out of your pockets and do nothing. If I were to just put my money in a trust fund, I bet I could cover my own care. And yes, doctors in this country are crooks too so we are dealing with a whole bunch of exploiters.

When I called CareCentrix, they transferred each time to NCO Financial. I could not get a supervisor or other human being there to speak with me. I then asked NCO more than a month ago to send me a statement so I know what I owe for and I can then pay and submit to Medicare. NCO Financial said they cannot send such a statement as it is against the law. I asked why I would send check, now for 3 times more than the letter of 8/15, when there is no detail as to what it is for, how much Cigna paid (if any), and why CareCentrix would not bill Medicare (I am 68). I tried Cigna and their rep supposedly called CareCentrix and I should receive a bill in 2 weeks. That was also mid-August and it is September 19, I have not heard anything.

I dropped Cigna! I now have Medicare as primary and a new secondary insurance. I still cannot get anyone to give me help obtaining the itemized bill or any information other than a threat to report the account to all national credit bureaus. I will gladly pay what I actually owe, once I know what it is for. I just want an honest accounting so I can contact Medicare and see if I can get reimbursed once I can find out what the balance is for and who did or did not pay anything! Cigna gave CareCentrix the billing contract for Apria. Before that, I never had a problem. I paid the co-pay because I was told what it was and how much for what.

Since I was incorrectly billed $291 for the first month, I would ask that Cigna refund that amount to me. I have contacted them directly and through my broker and they declined, stating that I had not checked another box at the bottom of the form which I overlooked since I checked the initial box on the application, and told my broker repeatedly that I was applying for insurance for both me and my wife.

No other insurance company has this "opt out" feature on their applications, and none of the other insurance companies billed me for insurance that was declined because of my wife's condition. I would like to start a class action suit to deny Cigna the funds they are generating from this deceitful practice. Can you let me know who I would contact to initiate legal action against them?

In my mind, I have insurance exactly for the reason of emergencies. Again, this is where the sales rep lied to me. I fully understand not covering elective procedures but to not cover emergency procedures, that is absurd. This is a huge lie by the sales representative. I then called customer service to try and deal with the dental situation and was given the runaround and was told that the only way I could attempt to get Cigna to cover the procedure was to write an appeal. So let me get this straight, your company lies to me, sells me a bag of goods, and then tells me it's my problem and my responsibility to fix? Does this sound like a scam to anyone else? I will be cancelling my policy with Cigna and finding a company that is honest, knows what customer service actually is, and actually provides the services that you pay for.

I also was hit with a $500 bill for an allergist visit. When I contacted my union to find out why I was being charged for an allergist visit, they told me "Oh, you went to the allergist 3 times." I said "Yes, I had to go back for several tests because I'm highly allergic to food (probably from the GMO's) as well as other allergens." She said “Cigna only allows one visit to the allergist.” My God! Cigna must have blood on their hands because I just know their patients dropped dead after receiving their hospital bills after an operation!

It took months to get reimbursed. Customer service is horrendous. They love to say the claim wasn't submitted with the right codes. Since when does a consumer know billing codes and be expected to provide them? It has taken Cigna seven months to pay for a chiropractic visit. I had to call, write, and complain several times and so did the provider. We were either told the codes weren't right or that the bill needed to be faxed to a third party but Cigna wouldn't give me the fax number.

And the latest fiasco, they finally approved my necessary spinal fusion surgery (after lying about not having all the information, and telling the surgeon's office to "Stop calling us!"). Then, I got a denial letter from Cigna for $9,000 EEG/EKG service during surgery because the provider wasn't in the network; like I had a choice while unconscious. These are just some of the outrageous experiences I have had with them. I agree with the other posters that customer service is nonexistent and I am given inconsistent answers every time I call. The only reason I have this company is because it is the only provider my employer provides. I even pay additional premiums for the expanded coverage. Avoid this company! Unfortunately, I don't have a choice. I am trying very hard to get the employer to switch.

Too bad, when I really needed the insurance, they won't cover us for nothing. My son had got sick and had to go to the E.R. We were only there for 4 hours. No x-rays and we were not admitted. Nowhere in our plan does it say that if you even think of walking into an E.R., you better have all of your deductible on hand before any coverage begins. My son got treated for pneumonia and we were at the E.R. for 4 hours and were looking at paying around $3K right out of pocket for a 4 hour visit. Cigna won't cover 1 single penny until our $5K deed is met, just for walking in the doors. To me that is a terrible coverage to have for anyone with children. There is no way had I been explained that in the beginning that I would have switched them over to such an asinine plan.

My son is two years old. He is bound to have a visit or two to the E.R. We are a one income family. I would have never chosen a plan that would financially hurt us if God forbid one of my children need care. Are you kidding me?! It is ludicrous and all they can say is, "We are sorry, but that is what the plan states." There is no justification anywhere. I pay them a monthly amount basically for them to say, “Well, your money isn't good enough.”

If I had to rush my daughter to the E.R. for an ear infection having to meet a $5K deductible before she is covered for an ear infection. That is dumb. The fact that such a stupid plan even exists is dumb. Cigna should be ashamed to have this as a policy. I thought all we would owe is our emergency room co-pay. After all, he was admitted and did not receive any x-rays of any sort.

If you have the tenacity to stick with it, you will be spending hours on the phone trying to fix claims that were processed out of the network, when they were really in network. Or, a favorite of theirs is to not properly calculate your deductible or out-of-pocket maximum, so even though they should be paying, they will show that you haven't met your deductible or out-of-pocket maximum. Keep track of all your records, and if you are not satisfied, go to your state insurance commissioner to file a complaint or the national labor department under your employee's group plan.

Cigna constantly refuse to pay anything for them, until I call again. As far a I was aware, Cigna would be the primary insurance with Medicaid being secondary. Also, I have been told as much by their reps, yet they continuously try to not pay anything. I really dislike this insurance company because they are not helpful and seems like they go out of their way to make everything difficult, so that you will just give up and pay things yourself, even though you pay for the costly insurance every month.

Bottom line, Cigna sucks. Next benefits enrollment I will be selecting other options. Hopefully, I and others reading this will request their employers to drop Cigna as an option as employees deserve better customer service than Cigna is providing.

Mind you, not only would I call, I would return the bill with written in big letters "Not correct patient, please review records," since I would call and was assured these conversations were documented. Tangentially, let me also say that a few weeks ago I received a bill and called. I was told this now is a compliance issue with HPPA and that I would be contacted soon about it. No contact from anyone. Going back to last week, I was again assured the issue would be remedied and someone from compliance would contact me within 24 hours. It has been over a week, more accurately over 1 year of this. I have not had CIGNA since June and am amazed how they can not see the service is being provided in Maryland and they are billing someone in CT. I attempt to reach a complaint department for CIGNA but there isn’t one listed. I’m angry and frustrated and would like to create written complaint as the many phone calls have done me no good. Please advise.

So the next day, I called and got all the information to them. They did tell me that Cigna would give a problem approving his stay as they have denied other patients. I took the chance as this was my last hope to get help that he needed. Well, Cigna denied the residential, and after the doctor kept insisting that he needed treatment, they agreed to partial treatment in which I had to pay $100 for room and board. They stated that he wasn't a harm to others and his self. What did he have to do, kill me or him to fit their guidelines?

Well after 2 weeks, they denied the partial treatment as well; and I had to go to Utah and bring him home as they stated an IOP was what he needed. Now when we got back, there was no IOP in place. I called and the case manager stated, "Well, you didn't call. So we assumed you didn't want the service." Now at this point, I want to jump off the roof and stated, "Yes, I want the treatment."

She gave me a location, an area that is well known to have drug dealers in the area. Does that make sense? The second one they told me was about an hour away. Ummm, I have to work and can't take him and request transportation service of which that don't have. The response I got back was "Do you have public transportation?" A 17 on his own with a substance abuse issue, really now. Then they told me "We can find you a therapist whom he can go to two times a week." Well, my son goes out the window last night on the fire escape in the middle of the night, and Lord knows what he did.

Oh, the best is that the Cigna rep told me when they denied partial treatment that he should be fine and that the drugs are out of his system. I have never heard of a 2-week stay at a treatment that guaranteed they are cured. They didn't even get a chance to scratch the first layer. The denial reason -- 1) Did not meet the "guidelines" and 2) If he fights the treatment at the center, then it's not worth it.

I am so beside my self and don't have anywhere to turn to and so afraid of losing my son. I don't understand how an insurance company (Cigna) has no heart to help.

I have been out of work since September, 2011 and I really don't need to be paying the outrageous COBRA premiums and getting absolutely no service for a problem that Cigna created. This problem started with a physician visit in December, 2010; over-billing in June, 2011; no resolution to repeated complaints and attempts to contact to date, February, 2012.

Then began the drama of trying to get reimbursed. I filed the claim online and after a couple of months, I got a letter stating they had contacted the provider requesting additional information. When I called Cigna to see what was going on, I was told that they couldn't pay the claim without the provider's tax ID number. I called the provider and was assured that that information was sent as of December 2011. Still no reimbursement.

I called again 1/12/12, and spent a long time on the phone with the representative. She told me that they had all of the provider information needed, but that the code came up as something to do with vision, which was allegedly covered by another insurance (which I don't have). When I persisted, she allegedly put the code into a "different computer," and it then came up correctly, as an open wound on the head. She apologized profusely, gave me a confirmation code, and took my phone number, promising to call if there were any questions. She said I would be reimbursed within 7-10 business days.

2/14/12, still no reimbursement, no phone calls, no word. I called again and was told again that they need the taxpayer ID number. I insisted that they had already been given this information and asked to speak with a supervisor. I was transferred, and the supervisor was allegedly pulling up my information when the line went dead. This was after I had spent 20 minutes on this phone call alone, not counting what I had spent on previous phone calls. I called back and after entering my personal information, ID #, etc., was told that the system was undergoing upgrades and I should call back in an hour.

There was information on the website that the system would be down 2/18 - 2/19, but nothing saying that it would be undergoing upgrades today. I suspect that they hung up on me after the system recognized my ID number.

This is not the first time that Cigna has hung up on me when I was trying to have a claim paid. About a year ago, when I first started using a FSA, I spent several hours on the phone and was hung up on many times trying to find out why that wasn't being reimbursed. On top of my money that they are holding, they are also wasting a lot of my time and my working hours.

I called Cigna on 11/2 and was surprised to hear that they were able to 'find' all the needed documents. A supervisor confirmed that findings on 11/29 (because I asked to speak to a supervisor after a rep claimed the insurance didn't have the documents yet again); however, on 11/30 I got another rejection letter. I called again 12/27 and was told that all the docs are in and that I will be getting a call. I am still waiting!

The attorneys Robert had in the past could do nothing for him or wouldn't because of the doctors that were involved, and one attorney that took medical films away from Robert that no one would do nothing about. Those same films Robert so desperately wanted because of a shot a doctor put in Robert’s back that Robert was not billed for or even told to Robert what it was. But later Robert found out it was used to discolor tissue, you know, to try and hide the spreading of the localize scleroderma that was rip open from surgery which is affecting Robert's spine.

Cigna, did you know that was one of the reasons why Robert paid to have those CAT scans taken of his upper extremity, you know those devastating CAT scan reports that everyone ignored? Robert has seen that you changed your logo from a business of caring to “Go You”. That's good because Robert could not understand how you could call yourself a business of caring and allow Robert or anyone else to be trashed from a medical mistake even from all his complaining from the pain and medical problems Robert lives with. Do you know, Cigna, that not many doctors will touch Robert because of his past medical problems and the danger that could befall on Robert without a proper medical history review because of the on going medical problem Robert lives with? And Robert blames you, Cigna, for that.

Cigna, you never settled this with Robert. I mean over the real medical problems that were given to Robert from that surgery, and it is time you and Robert resolve this so Robert can get on with his life. I think you owe Robert a little bit more than nothing and everything taken away from Robert, don't you think, so Cigna? Cigna, don't be silent anymore like everyone else has been toward Robert because it's just going to start getting louder and louder until you resolve this properly.

Robert went in surgery for a debridement of his anterior inferior acromion, basically a cleaning of his rotator cuff. That is what Robert was shown in a video. The procedures performed, rotator cuff debridement, bursectomy (extensive debridement), coracoacromial ligament resection, superior rotator cuff, acromioplasty, and acromioclavicular joint. Robert came out of surgery with a damaged and painful rotator cuff, a failed shoulder decompression, and trauma to the brachio-plexus.

The long thoracic nerve severed, causing winging of the shoulder blade that caused the localize scleroderma to spread, which is effecting the thoracic vertebrae of the spine and damage to the surrounding muscles. Robert’s cervical vertebrae is being affected because of the shoulder displacement and the trauma to the brachio-plexus, which now is affecting Robert’s use of his left extremity. And the bad thing about it all is that it is a progressive medical problem, which means it's getting worse. Robert was given the door the next day after surgery. They tried to make Robert leave right after surgery but Robert’s mother would not let them. To this day the doctor who performed Robert’s surgery never explained to Robert about the procedures performed in surgery.

Every time she called she was told it would be re-processed. To our frustration the bill kept coming. My wife called your company on December 15, 2011 and asked to talk to a manager and she was put on hold (25 minutes) and then hung up on. I called back and after explaining yet again I asked to speak to a manager. I again waited 25 minutes when a woman by the name of Rachel came on the phone and yes, once again, I had to tell the story. She ensured me that she was going to take care of this and was going to call me back by 11AM on Friday December 16, 2011; she never did.

I called the return number on Monday December 19, 2011 that she gave me **. When I placed the call it rang several times and then hung up (this really felt like the middle finger to me). I again called the 800 number and asked to speak to Rachel. I was told she was in the office but not available. I asked for a return phone call and once again no call. I waited till today and yes once again explained to your front line staff again and asked for a manager. They put me on hold for only 20 minutes this time. I have now spoken to a manager by the name of Ken who told me the bill has been processed and I am responsible for the $98.52. I asked him why it took 6 months to figure this out.

He could not tell me. I asked for the name of the CEO and he said, "I think Brian **?" I asked for his phone number, he didn't know. I asked for email, he didn't know. I asked for the corporate office number, he had no clue. Sir, the bottom line is your company has extremely poor customer service it’s almost nonexistent. I will let you know because of your company I am now in collections and my credit rating will be hurt because of this. I would like to know what your company is going to do about this. Please feel free to email or call me direct.

I was informed that yes they are conducting these calls to check up on customers, but even the rep at MVP agreed with me that they are an invasion of privacy. Does a health insurance provider, whom you pay $500.00 a month to (my husbands company pays them almost $600.00 a month on top of our $500), have the right to monitor your health care, other than being your provider? Or have the right to call you, and question you about subjects, such as are you having pap smears?

I find it very inappropriate that MVP is monitoring me in my personal decisions about MY health care choices. Are they also asking men if they have had prostrate tests done? This is the first time this has happened, so I think this is the future of health care, and it may be scary if they can start denying women insurance, unless you do what they say you have to. I just thought I would make people aware.

Here is a not-so-brief history of the fraudulent tactics Cigna has used to delay payment of my claim: I submitted 10 dates of service spanning from 10/15/10 to 5/27/11 over two months ago. The claims were rejected because my provider had not included his taxpayer ID number. There is no reason for you to require it. I paid him, I'm the one who needs to be reimbursed. Money he received from me is a matter between him and the IRS. But I acceded to your ridiculous demand and the taxpayer ID was provided. Your representative assured me that I'd be reimbursed in a matter of days.

The claim was rejected a second time because Cigna claimed that my provider was a member of the Value Options plan. I don't know where the ** you got that one, but it is absolutely untrue. My provider, Bruce **, doesn't even take insurance. I insisted on staying on the phone with one of your reps while she called Value Options. A Value Options rep informed her that Bruce ** is/was not a member of the Value Options network. Everything should be okay, right? Smooth sailing from here on, huh? I was even given the name and number of a Cigna supervisor Allen ** (**), who promised to expedite the matter. He made it sound like he had a whole crew of people tidying up those claims for me, ready to throw them in the mail. Except.. I needed to sign and fax a claim form stating the money was to be paid to me, not the provider even though it says on the ** statement that the provider has been paid in full and that insurance companies should pay the patient (me).

Okay, fine. I signed, I faxed, but then after not hearing from Allan for a while, he finally called me back to tell me that since parts of the statement I submitted were handwritten by the provider, I would have to provide Cigna copies of the canceled checks I wrote to Dr. Spring. This was no small task, but I sucked it up, downloaded PDFs of 12 checks I had written and emailed them to him. This was Friday, 11/4. I heard back from Allan yesterday, 11/7, saying that he was still working on it but had no idea when I'd be paid. We are not talking a couple hundred dollars here. We are talking almost $3500.00 of out-of-pocket expenses. We are talking money I was counting on, money I was promised to pay bills.

I see all the happy, smiley faces on your website. So it seems that you guys are somewhat concerned with brand image. Let me tell you what images are conjured in my mind when I think of Cigna: A steaming pile of **, a cancer, raw sewage. I'm submitting this note to your website, but I'm also submitting my experience to every anti-insurance website I can find. I will not stop spreading the word until I am paid in full. You are a problem that needs to be fixed and I swear to you that I will do my part to make sure it happens.

So, what it really amounts to is this; that Cigna became the secondary insurance to dupe their insuree into paying all expenses for them. Cigna's intention is to not have any out of pocket expenses for their insurees or medical facilities and just let the insuree pay it all. I quote them, "Once you meet the deductible, you are responsible for paying the coinsurance - a percentage of the cost for healthcare services.” I shouldn't have a cost or deductible or a responsibility for co-insurance. I have 3 insurance coverages. I need help. I have 6000 plus more for 2011. I need help getting Cigna to act as the secondary insurance they are claiming to be. Medicaid treats their insurees with more respect. I know if I feel this way, other Cigna employees must be feeling the same way. I am so tired of begging, pleading, calling, and writing them to pay these bills. I am depressed from this. Please help.

They claim its a glitch in the system, but it's funny how when I call them to re-submit the claim it goes right through. The truth is they are making the healthcare providers wait for payment. That's sad! I never had a problem with Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Cigna, when are you guys going to be able to process the claims correctly? The last representative told me it is probably the doctor offices putting another insurance down. I told her the last doctor who had seen my child had never seen him before, so where would she get that from when I only have her a Cigna card. I don't work for you at all, Cigna. But I think I should be paid for handling matters you all should be intelligent enough to handle and this had been going on for a year.

My back surgeon has faxed over 100 pages of all information as to why I need lumbar fusion due to constant pain, also faxed were letters from my primary care provider, physical therapy, and chiropractor all concurring with my back surgeon and CIGNA has denied my surgery twice. We are now in a ERD appeals process, the last appeal CIGNA made the decision to deny my surgery before receiving all of the paperwork on 10-27-2011 at approximately 0800 even though the final letters were being faxed to them, my back surgeons office has been wonderful in dealing with CIGNA and all their requests however they do not understand why CIGNA has yet again refused my surgery a second time and we have to do another appeal when over 100 pages of requested information has been faxed as requested by CIGNA verifying that all other things have been tried.

Cigna yesterday told my surgeon that even if I met 5 of their 6 requirements, I would be denied lumbar surgery when the fact of the matter is I in fact meet all of the requirements to be authorized back surgery. I have read the above posts and have also dealt with several of the same CIGNA co employees Yolanda, Jeff, a Barb whom was supposed to help with the problem @ 1 800 591 7752, a Beverly 1800 591 7752 **, who also told me and my back surgeon that even if I only met 5 of the 6 requirements I would be denied when in fact I meet all 6 of their requirements and over 100 pages of medical info has been faxed to CIGNA. Barb and I am still being denied even though my husband has paid high premiums through his employer to CIGNA for medical ins.

Since CIGNA can't claim its pre existing they are now stalling for other reasons that are not valid and also the continuous run around on the ph. is ridiculous and the end result is we'll call you back which doesn't happen as you are avoided as a customer. I do not understand why this is happening accept for pure greed from the insurance company they want the premiums but refuse to provide services which are needed, I also do not understand how CIGNA can deny a procedure when there are four other doctors in concurrence that I need this lumbar fusion. I also feel CIGNA people need to be investigated and also a class action law suit filed against the insurance co!

I started receiving bills in the mail up to 18 months after the service was completed, paid for by both me and Cigna. After several hours on the phone, I was told that my date of termination was incorrectly changed and backdated 1 year which "caused the system to request refunds automatically".

After several phone calls, I was able to get all but the last claim reprocessed and paid. I was told the last claim was outside the allowable timeframe for reprocessing. I had asked to speak with a supervisor and told they were all in a meeting at the time. I was told I would be called back within 48 hours. They called back 24 hours later and left a voice mail. The number I was given to call back was, believe it or not an 800 number for phone **.

I have since phoned back and spoken directly to a supervisor who has assured me, she will investigate both the refunded claim and the erroneous callback number.

This is by far the most difficult insurance company to deal with. Their customer service employees do not have the tools to investigate problems. They could not see in their system that a refund request was processed. It wasn't until someone telephoned the department responsible for dealing with refund requests that they could even determine what had occurred.

I have spent hours of my valuable time dealing with this process, and I will never give Cigna a nickel of my money for insurance in the future.

They approve procedures, then deny claims. You can never reach a live person, and never get a response to a written inquiry. The customer service is ungodly. I've convinced more than 40 former Cigna customers to switch, and it's a lifelong goal to get them out of South Carolina completely.

Cigna never called back when they said they would and dragged this process out for 4 months. I could attempt a second appeal but I can already tell Cigna is so screwed up and fraudulent that the appeal would be denied. Kaiser was so much better to deal with and I will be going back to them during my company's annual health choice. I am stuck paying for this device even though I would have purchased another device at a lower cost if I knew it was not covered. I don't have the time to get a lawyer and document everything that has happened, but from what I'm reading about Cigna, someone should file a class action lawsuit about fraudulently misleading customers.

The company is incompetent and has fraudulently misled me into making the wrong decision. Worse, they do not acknowledge their mistake and try to repair the damage done. This is the first time I've ever been so disgusted with a company that I found it necessary to file a negative report and I've been around 50 years. But it is unfair to unsuspecting innocent people that unwittingly may get insurance through Cigna..

CIGNA denied the treatment stating they never heard of this type of treatment for my type of cancer. The doctor's name was Dr Irwin **. My doctor was told that he would be given an opportunity to appeal my case and speak directly to a CIGNA doctor. Finally last week, after speaking with a doctor and after being made aware of all the treatments, the Proton Therapy Cancer Center have done with my type of cancer approved my case.

A day later, my cancer doctor's office got a call and was told that the doctor who I spoke with from CIGNA did not have the authority to approve my case.

I am a 100% disabled Veteran and I have never seen such nonsense at the expense of people's lives are allowed to go on. CIGNA should be put out of business after some of the things they have already done in the past such as allowing children to die because of things they decide to cover once it is too late to treat the patient, which they continue to do even now.

They currently are not returning my phone calls. The benefit start date, according to them, is 4-14-2011.

They have not paid the chiropractor and I have had to pay for the services rendered, which was almost a year ago. I continue to follow up to be reimbursed and so far have gotten nowhere.

The problem is that the only reason he is not harming himself is because they have 24-hour watch on him and are trying to get him stable and out of harm’s way. But CIGNA does not care. I told several people that work with CIGNA that my husband is very ill and needed to be there. They told me that they cannot discuss him because he is grown. I told her I am the primary card holder and I did need to discuss my husband’s problem. That we needed to discuss why you are refusing to cover him.

Then after that she began asking me about my husband’s past and why I think he should be there. Now, this is the question. How do they expect me to discuss his personal business with them when they are not willing to cover him or to give any information on him? So I told them that I will call, email or write to every person, company, or government that would listen as to how an insurance company that takes about $800 a month from my check refuses service that they provide and I pay for.

To top it off, every month they take our money and send out these false letters of concern on how they can help with different situations but now that we are in a crisis, they are refusing help. This is my first step. I will call everyone.

Everytime I call I get a different person who has no idea what I am talking about. I have never in my life delt with such a horrible company with the worst customer service EVER!!!!! The claim is for over $2000.00 and to be honest I just don't think they want to pay me any of the money. I desperatly need help!!!! All it would take is for one person to take just an hour of their time to look over my account and FOLLOW THROUGH!!!!

I called Cigna on 4-27. I was told by Consuela that they were working with the first provider (I'll call them provider A) to track down the payment. Provider A, I was told, was being connected with a Cigna online business site that would allow the provider to track down all necessary information themselves. Regarding the payment to provider B, I was told that an EFT payment had been made and was transferred to Chase (who runs the HSA) for further information. Chase informed me that everything Consuela had just told me was incorrect and that once Cigna debits my HSA account, Chase can no longer see what happened to the funds. So, I called Cigna back and talked to Yolanda. She supposedly put in a request to get information as to how payment was made to Vendor B. She said that she hoped to get a response that day, or the next day at the latest. And she said she would call me the following day with news. Yolanda did not call me back.

So on the afternoon of 4-28, I called Cigna and this time spoke with Ray Lynn. She could see Yolanda's inquiry but said it looked as if it went to the wrong department. She said that she would put in a new request for tracking and would call me back on Sunday or Monday. She did not call me back. I called Cigna again on 5-1 and spoke with Elia who sent me to Mandy. Mandy, before I could stop her, sent me to Chase. And I was told the same thing I was told before. Chase can't help me once Cigna debits my account. So, I called back to Cigna again and spoke with Julie. She said that she could not see a payment being made in her system and that 'we are waiting to hear from that department'. I was supremely frustrated at this point and asked for a supervisor.

I was given to a supervisor named Jeff **. He said that he would find out if funds were paid to vendor B. If not, the funds that were taken from my account would be credited. If a payment was made, he would get me the check clearing info. I thought, finally, I'm getting somewhere but I was wrong. When I spoke with Jeff ** again on 5-4, he said that he could not find any record of payment having been made to Vendor B. He said that he would update the service request so that the money would be credited back to my HSA. He said that he would have verification within 24-48 hours and would call me back by that Friday, May 6th.

Jeff didn't call me on Friday the 6th or Monday the 9th. I left him a voice mail on the 10th and on the 11th. Late in the afternoon of the 11th, I got a call from Julie (apparently calling instead of Jeff). She told me that the payment matter was still under investigation. Cigna did take the money from my HSA and did not pay the provider, but Cigna couldn't figure out where the money went. They said, “When the mystery is solved, we will credit your account.” At this point, I was fuming. I explained that I didn't care what Cigna had done with the money or that they needed to figure out the glitch in their system. They admitted to having withdrawn money from my account and having not paid the vendor. “There is no reason for further delay,” I said, “pay me back!” She was so sorry she said. She said that they were “working” on it. And she couldn't give me a date by which I would be credited.

On 5-16, I touched base with Vendor A to see if their payment issue had been solved. Big surprise, it had not. They had gotten online with Cigna's Business Services site. But all the information that they could see was “payment was made on X date”. There were no payment details or an audit to show which account the payment went into. As the provider said, "Cigna has been less than helpful.”

I tried to reach Jeff ** again and could not, only voice mail. So, I called the main number and asked to speak to another supervisor. I was transferred to Gracie **. She listened to my story with a mixture of horror and disbelief. She kept saying, "That just doesn't sound right that we would have taken money out of your account, not paid the vendor, and drug our feet in returning your money." She apologized for Cigna's behavior and said that she would do some research, get things straightened out, and call me the next morning.

5-17: Gracie didn't call me this morning. I called her and she returned my call. She said that she was working with the client service partner (my husband's employer?) and her financial services department. It is confirmed that no check went out to Vendor B. Yet, she cannot tell me when I will have my money back. I explained to her that, in my eyes, Cigna's actions translate to theft. And I said that if any banking institution took $1566.09 from my checking account and refused to return it, I would have solid grounds for legal action, same here, and I'm considering it.

She said that she was working really hard to get this resolved etc. I explained that I had gotten that same story from every person I have talked to over the previous 3 weeks. And I said that as “hard as everyone is working on it”, nothing is being done. She said that she “escalated” the matter to a higher level. I asked if she was the first person to “escalate” the situation and she said yes. If this is true, it's a clear sign of how terrible Cigna's customer service is. This should have been elevated to a high priority situation on 4-27 and should have been resolved within a couple of days. Instead, the issue was passed around and ignored. I'm not hopeful that dealing with Gracie will be any different. I told her that I read Cigna's Ethics Policy online and got a huge laugh about their dedication to “fair treatment of customers”! I have never been treated so poorly by any company in my life. Frankly, I never imagined that treatment like this was possible.

Note: I asked what was happening with the payment to Vendor A. She said the investigation is currently on hold until the matter with Vendor B is solved. Assuming Vendor B issue is solved, they will use the same template to solve problem with Vendor A. Again, this is ridiculous, as if everything at Cigna was being done by hand with pen and paper in a back room. If they can't work on issues simultaneously, they are operating in the dark ages. In my opinion, they are simply not in a hurry to refund my money because they don't have to be. And that's what makes me the angriest. We are financially well off. But I know that this kind of gross incompetence could wreck some families with big medical bills and shaky credit. I’m absolutely, totally, and completely disgusted with Cigna.

I then sent registered my mail to the billing department and the General Council explaining this situation. In a letter dated Apr 14, I was informed that I had not paid my premium and that I could be canceled. On Apr 25, I spoke to Josh who told me the situation was under review and I would be contacted. I did not hear from Cigna all day so on Apr 26 I called and spoke to Shahita who told me that a letter would be going out, and that a voice message had been left on my phone. When I explained that I had not gotten a call at all, let alone a voice message and that I was threatened with cancellation, she gave me the name of the supervisor who was handling this matter, Ashley ** and her phone extension.

I called and left a voice mail at 9:15 am. When I hadn't heard back by 1 pm I called again and after being disconnected with Vanessa, called back and got Shahita again who informed me that a mistake was made in the written notices and my premium was indeed $458. That the $43 difference would be waived for April, but I would have to pay $458 going forward. The people I dealt with on the phone were extremely patient and helpful. But I am dismayed that the supervisor did nothing to contact me. I feel that Cigna is being deceptive in their pricing of premiums and to this day, I have not received a correction notice, or any documentation stating that my new policy premium is $458.

Cigna went ahead and approved the exact same procedure for another patient. Yet, I was told that they would not approve it for anyone because supposedly it is not FDA approved and considered experimental. If that is true, which I can prove it false, why would they approve it for someone else? This procedure is done all the time by doctors and the doctors have had great success with this procedure with minor complications.

Also, Cigna stated that this drug (although it is medically necessary) would only cover it under their Part D (drug coverage) for an out of pocket cost of $960.60 through their pharmacy, "Argis". I found out that medical Botox would only cost a third of the amount than what I would pay for it out of network at an in-pocket expense through "Argis", that Cigna insists that I have to go through. Cigna told the Botox Assistance Program that they were paying for the drug; they did not. Thus, I have to delay my treatment until after the first of the year (2011), and I am in so much pain that I cannot function.

I saw my doctor last on April 2009 and the last visit was on June 2010. Although, I have taken prescription drugs without medical consultation. The insurance company is saying that because of this reason, I have pre-existing medical condition. Hence, they would not pay. Taking prescription drugs before June 1, 2010, is not in their definition of pre-existing medical condition. When I applied for this limited health benefit (by working part-time), I was never asked of an existing medical condition. I pay about $150 every month for this limited medical benefit and I have to pay 76% of the charges from the last doctor visit. I could have just gone to the county hospital and pay only $50 to see the doctor. I cannot cancel because I have to wait for the open enrollment in October. To date, I have paid $467 in employee deductions and I have not gained any benefit from it.

It took 7 months to get the ambulance paid. We had Jewish hospital calling us for the bill not being paid. Then this week my doctor wanted my husband to take a drug called Acthar so that we may walk again. Cigna has denied the claim twice. The point is that the cost is $20,000 for five shots and they do not want to pay. It's like they would not pay the bills from his hospital stay. You know when you are under this type of stress with illness, it is a shame you have to fight the insurance company. We pay over $6000 per year for his coverage.

It's very upsetting, esp. when dealing with a situation in which time is of the essence. My husband already had to delay his operation because of the snafu. Now they are all saying orally that he is covered, his doctor is listed on the MVP website, but coverage for the first doctor visit was denied. It's very upsetting, at best incompetent, at worst, fraud.

Our daughter graduated last year from college, and has been working at a job that provides no healthcare benefits. When Obama care passed, we called MVP/Cigna. Two different people (at USIA) told us she would be covered as of June 1, 2010 (our enrollment date). After submitting the papers to have her added to our family policy, we received a bulletin back saying that while MVP/Cigna were willing to add her to the policy, the employer had elected not to. After spending hours calling MVP, USIA, the counsel to the Bar Assn. Health Committee and the head of that committee, we finally learned that MVP was going to charge all NYS Bar Assn members in their plan a 2% annual surcharge, so the Bar Assn decided not to have children up to 26 covered until Obama signed the legislation, and the annual enrollment date arrived back around. Hence, our daughter will not be covered until June 1, 2011 (for one-half year). If we could drop this plan now, we would! Advice to others: don't join this plan!

My dear people, who have been hurt by an evil company like Cigna, why don't we all get together and get rid of the evil. We are innocent people who got mislead by a company that likes the money but does not care about us. Let's get together. Together we are stronger and we can deal with demonic companies such as Cigna.

Now, Cigna has denied me the life insurance benefit even though I was named beneficiary. It seems like the "beneficiary form" was not on file. I located it (the employer had it). It seems Cigna received only 8-1/2 x 11" inches of an 8-1/2 x 14" form. I now have to file an appeal and there is not any guarantee Cigna will pay the benefit as Cigna says "the form must be on file with Cigna, not the employer". I urge anyone with Cigna to have Cigna prove they have the beneficiary form on file with them. And I do not recommend Cigna STD/LTD or Group life product to any organization. I am a benefits manager and their sales pitch does not equal their administration. I may need an attorney if Cigna denies the GUL benefit.

With the drug side effects for depression, anti-rejection, and neuropathy as a senior software engineer, I found it harder to focus, learn and remember new things. Last July, I finally quit because I just couldn't do it physically and mentally. My heart has a condition called a weak heart and I had neuro evaluation and proved I had short term audio and visual memory loss. I was paid 90 days short term disability but my case was closed after that. I appealed and it's still closed. I applied for Social Security Disability and was accepted and back paid from last December. Cigna has the basically the same definition of disabled but will not pay a dime in LTD.

Cigna has denied him private nursing twice now despite the fact the policy states they will cover up to 16 hours per day. The denial, according to Cigna is because they state Timmy's care is primarily custodial and not skilled. Timmy gets fed through a tube in his stomach every 2 hours, meds through his tube every 2 hours, injections every other day, enemas as needed, blood drawn as needed, suctioning at least every hour for secretions that make him prone to aspiration, seizure precautions, bleeding precautions with a history of bleeding tendencies and a cerebral bleed.

Timmy is deaf, blind, unable to walk, talk or communicate wants or complaints, he is totally dependent upon others for survival. The state of Tennessee, which we reside, states feedings through a tube , medication administration are skills that require a license, therefore these should not and could not be considered custodial. Timmy's life is in danger if an untrained person cares for him, which is what Cigna is stating should happen.

I tried on numerous occasions to explain that I was stuck. I had no way to get an updated report from anyone. I explained this to a rep.named Joseph. He stated that he understood my situation and that he had enough info to get at least the rest of my short term benefits paid to me. He said that he would get to work on it ASAP. Well, after a week, I called to follow up. After two days of my calling with no return call, I again had to explain my situation to him and he again said that he would get to work on it right away. A week later, the same thing happened. He had no idea what I was talking about. After explaining again my situation, it became apparent that he never did or intend to work on my file.

This was a delay of the weeks. He even stated that the reason there was a delay on his returning my calls was because he did not have my contact info. LOL. This is after being with Cigna for several months now. So, On Jan 27th, I saw my surgeon for my check up. He said that I cannot go back to work until Feb 26th. On Feb 1st, my surgeon's office informed me that all of the requested documents were sent to Cigna both fax and through the mail. As of yesterday, I was told by Cigna that they have not received anything yet.

I have called my new rep. Tanya. I have called her daily over the last two weeks to follow up. There have been many occasions that I do not get a call back. And, when I do talk to her I don't get the specifics as to what is going on. All I'm being told is that they are waiting on "medicals." There is no sense of concern or effort. Yesterday, Feb 11th, I contacted my surgeons office and they again faxed my updated report to Tanya *** with the fax number Tanya had given me. Today, I have called Cigna several times and I have yet to hear anything back.

I'm just tired of the stress of dealing with these people. There is no consistency in what they are telling me. There have been times over the last few weeks that I was being told my claim was being reviewed. Then, a few days later, I'm being told they are waiting on updates from my surgeon. Which is it? I really feel like there is nothing I can do. And, I'm tired of being lied to and being blown off. Who can I turn to for help? The so-called "supervisors" there are of no help either. Now, I'm going on two months without having received any benefits.

A little side note, I just spoke to my HR rep from my employer. She handles all of the disability issues. It was amazing to hear that she has been dealing with Cigna over my claim with basically the same issues. Yesterday, they e-mailed her and requested info that she has already sent several times. Some she sent as far back as early December. Does anyone at Cigna have a grasp as to what is going on?

I was to call back the first of 2010. I called back 01-04-2010, and I was told the form to release info had expired. So they could not talk with me. I asked them to fax me a new form, but nothing yet happened. I talked with a manager, and she said it was against the law per ERISA to talk about the claim since it was not for me.

I paid $5500.00 for a friend to be in a hospital, who had cut his wrist trying to kill his self. It was okay for them to lie to me. I have made at least 25 to 30 calls to Cigna. It's a never ending story with Cigna. I called the State of Minn. Their comment was good luck.

Even after coverage started, still we couldn't obtain info due to no cards with ID numbers. When we finally received them, we contacted them again, and still no help at all. We got transferred from one agent to the next. And when they finally got a supervisor on the phone, still no help came and was very, very rude. Needless to say, I wish we were back in BCBS instead of this awful place. Cigna has the worst customer service ever, and I really don't know why they have employees just sitting there, if they aren't going to help with customers who by the way pay to have this.

My medical insurance is the Cigna PPO with HSA. This cost is crazy! I told them to cancel the prescription because it is too expensive. The person said it was too late as the order had been shipped to me already. I said I would ship it back then. He said they cannot accept it back. I said I would not be paying for it. He said then I would have a balance on my account. How can they ship you stuff without you authorizing the charges for it? How can this be legal? It seems only fair that people should be able to authorize these things before they can be shipped. Otherwise, they can ship you anything and say that your doctor ordered it.

10/02 patient responsibility $216.80

They (Cigna) have decided what are customary charges and charges that are above their payment protocol. This doesn't seem fair or legal. We have thousands and thousands of dollars that we owe, because Cigna only paid what was in the 3rd-party billing protocol. Why do we pay for insurance when they don't cover like they say - 100% after a $1000.00 out-of-pocket and $25 co-pay. Except, any charge above the coverage is the responsibility of the insured.

Another example is a bill from Children's Hospital, Boston, MA: 5/21 charges $1182.00, 6/18 cigna payment $0, 8/11 cigna payment $848.96

8/04/09, Total charges received from Children's Hospital $4282.00, Plan liability $3183.70, Total patient responsibility $977.51

A brief breakdown of one charge: Physician $3100.00 charges submitted, Not covered or discounted $0, Plan liability $2334.74, Balance $765.26

We don't know what to do. We have about $12,000.00 in medical bills that are adjustments, not covered, etc. And even with insurance, for our "prescription plan," we are paying about $200.00 a month for our daughter's diabetes supplies, $25-100 in co-payments, and not to mention our own doctor visits and prescriptions. The stress is really mounting, and we need help.

I don't feel it's fair that if a doctor submits a bill and a third party says we are only going to pay a portion and you can bill the patient for the rest. That little disclosure statement "any charge above their customary or negotiated charges is the patient's responsibility" is talking out both sides of your mouth. We will cover you but only to the point that we want to pay. So can I submit $5 and say that this is what I feel I owe and not have any repercussions? What can I do? Thank you for listening

Cigna has spoken with the doctor; they received a note from the doctor, and medical records. They are still refusing to make a determination. It is never enough and they will never ask for all that they need at one time. I would like to quote the doctor's note: "Giving the difficulty that Mr. ** has had in healing the Pyoderma Gangrenosum and its impact on his ability to work, he should be considered for total disability. I expect that even in this regard his ability to use this leg is in jeopardy and he should not be subjected to the risk of loss of his lower extremity."

She also made me aware today that they are not using his other illnesses in their judgment. Pyoderma is a direct relation to Crohn's. The DVT started when a doctor gave improper wound care instructions for the Pyoderma. And the vascular disease is directly related to the fact that the Pyoderma won’t heal. I am tired of fighting these people. I am tired of the runaround. I am tired of the lies. I have dealt with the "Complaint" department in the past, all that proved to me is that they truly are a bunch of liars; even going as far as to make up conversations that we never had.

My son's head is not supported on the right side as it should be causing more atrophy of his muscles on the right side where the stroke is concentrated. We need the tray on his chair so he can have a place to rest his hands and support his remote control and other devices we use to communicate with him as he cannot speak. His left arm and hand did not completely recover from a previous stroke and the right arm is completely immobile.

Final results to delay is loss of home, loss of car, loss of all money because they keep sending the checks late. Now they will only send money once a month. New forms clearly specify that the Social Security disability money, if he is approved, will be taken by the insurance company. All state agencies refused food stamps or housing or medical assistance because the insurance company says he is being paid. He has lost his family and now can't make the trip they demand he makes to keep the medical appointments. They require all trips and yet refuse to pay the cost.

I feel I pay a lot of money a month to have health insurance and what good is it if they won't pay for medical treatment? Can they get away with just taking your money and not paying? My husband's company does not offer health insurance and I feel I have no other options. I've looked up complaints online and it does appear that CIGNA receives many complaints. Is there anything that can be done? To me this is the same as saying you’re only allowed one x-ray a year no matter how many bones your break. I truly believe they are just finding loopholes to deny payment. Please help.

In a letter from the Social Security Administration dated February 6, 2008, it stated, "You may enroll for Medicare medical insurance at any time you are covered under a group health plan. However, you may wait and enroll during the 8-month period that begins when the work ends or your coverage under the plan ends, whichever occurs first." So, we elected to stay with Cigna since we had been so satisfied, even though their premium had jumped so drastically in January 2009.

I have called and written letters to Cigna trying to get $2,500 in medical bills paid but they were rude and non-responsive to our problem. I finally got someone to promise to mail me an Appeal form but I haven't received it yet. They were even rude enough to return a several-page document with cover letter that I sent them asking for a review. Cigna's stand is that we were required to go on Medicare when it became available but why didn't they tell us that? Why did our bills have to pile up before they finally told us their policy? Why have they collected the high premium but not provided the services?

It's frustrating when you try to do everything right and make the contacts to correct problems only to be told "It's your fault. Deal with it." My husband needs some more diagnostic work done but now, we can't afford it. He has some new medical problems that need attention, but we can't afford the doctor visits. His health has been put on hold until July, when he will start receiving Medicare benefits. Does Cigna care? No!

I also had an ongoing complaint regarding harassment in the work place due to my FMLA. I sent a long grievance letter to Ms. **. I had not heard anything about the grievance and I had been very sick, so it was a month or so that I tried to get info on grievance. I was told that they had sent me a letter, certified mail for their response. I told Ms. ** that the only letter I received (certified mail) was where they fired me. I asked what the letter said and she said she couldn't remember but she would send the letter again. I received it in June. Nothing was done, period. My doctors put me out of work due to several health issues. I have had to get a lawyer to fight for my short term and long term disability. The last full day of work for me was 1-29-08. I worked 3 hours on 2-6-08.

I have had four surgeries from 4/08 to 12/08. I had bilateral cervical fusion, gallbladder surgery and two surgeries (10/08 and 12/08) at MUSC in Chas to help me breathe. I still have apnea. I cannot use a cpap or bipap. I have chronic migraines and nausea, arthritis in my back, slight scoliosis, back pain, carpal tunnel in both hands and wear braces on them. I have fibromyalgia, severe depression and stress, chronic pain, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, hyperthyroidism, trouble sleeping, trouble with concentration and memory to name a few. I take pain meds everyday. I have not had a paycheck since Feb '08. Cigna keeps saying that I was a sedentary nurse. I'm only 46 and was educated. My job was triaging patients on the phone. Most people, even in the hospital, did not know the extent of what our job was.

I did work on the computer 10 hours a day. I had to have an SC multistate license and a Penn state license. I have had to get a lawyer but according to them, I have been turned down twice already. They are filing an appeal. I think it is so ridiculous that when a person truly needs help and has documented health problems that they can't get the help they need or deserve. My medical bills are ridiculous and I'm getting very frustrated. I do have a lawyer who is trying to help me with the STD/LTD and Social Security Disability. This has been going on now for a year. I just want to know why this is so hard. My family is living paycheck to paycheck and I have a son that graduates high school this year. Cigna has drawn this out so long. Now, I understand why people who are sick/disabled have to file for bankruptcy.

After almost 24 hours of vomiting, she was becoming dehydrated. Once in the hospital (which is not a Cigna provider) I.V. fluids, medications and a CT of the abdomen with rectal contrast were ordered. A mass was found in her lower abdomen and it appeared to have ruptured. South Haven Community Hospital has only 40 beds and has no emergency surgery or pediatric services available. Within 15 mins of this diagnosis, we were in an ambulance being transported to The Children's Hospital at Bronson Methodist in Kalamazoo, Mi. Once there, we met with the Chief of Pediatric Surgery, and the diagnosis was confirmed, there was a mass and it appeared to have ruptured. Surgery was scheduled immediately.

They removed a tumor the size of a large grapefruit and my daughter's right ovary. Shortly after surgery, the surgeon informed me of a hospital appointment with an pediatric hematologist and oncologist. Dr. ** is with Michigan State University's Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies, she would be my daughter's oncologist. To make an extremely long story short, my daughter had an extremely rare form of juvenile ovarian cancer. We (i.e. me and my ex husband) were informed that since both hospital visits were emergency, Cigna would cover both at 80%. This would not be the case.

First, we were told that because we didn't call for prior authorization, the coverage wouldn't be decreased (It was Saturday and the call centers were not open). Then it was the fact the hospitals were not in network. Emergent or not. Then that ruptured tumor was not emergent. Finally the bill at South Haven Community was paid at 80% after a battle. Things like the CT had to be pre-authorized etc. etc. Any excuse not to pay. Then Bronson wasn't part of the network, so they would only pay at 60%. Then the oncologist wasn't in network, they would authorize to see a geriatric oncologist but not a pediatric oncologist. And since I have found the oncologist office did apply for network years ago. But Cigna only authorizes one name in the entire office. They all bill under the same tax I.D. why aren't they all listed?

Bronson applied and became part of Cigna's network October 1, 2008. They had no choice, the other pediatric provider for the area discontinued pediatric services June 5th, 2008. We go back to Bronson for testing every 3 months but as of yet cannot get Cigna to pay what they should. And every time you call, they agree that it should be covered and then they don't pay. The reasons are numerous and will vary from operator to operator. The latest is no visits to the oncologist are covered because the deductible hasn't been met! An Emergency room visit, the ambulance transfer to a children's hospital with an in-patient stay, and her deductible hasn't been met. It's unbelievable. How they determine what to pay at 80% and what to pay at 60% I don't know. The anesthesiologist at Bronson was paid at 80% but the pathologist wasn't. The hospital wasn't and the oncologist wasn't (even though she is supposed to be in network). It's unbelievable.

Today, Dec. 12, 2008, I received a bill from them for $1,303.59 due in full by Dec. 29, 2008. I called to inquire about this since I had not received a bill from them in some time. The customer service representative who would only identify herself to me as Claire was extremely rude with me as I tried to figure out why I had stopped receiving bills from them, and why I was getting a large bill now. I asked if they could simply start sending me the monthly bills again (as they had neglected to keep doing), and she said no, because I should have kept sending them money even though I didn't get any bills! When I said I couldn't send money when I had no payment amount, no account number, or an address to send it to, her reply was, "Well lady, I can hide bills just as well as you can!"

I have never been so insulted by a customer service representative. I was so astonished that I asked her to repeat herself to make sure I heard her correctly, and she said, You heard me in a very rude tone. I then asked to speak to her supervisor and she put me on hold for at least five minutes. When she came back she said that her supervisor said there was nothing she could do and I had had better pay the bill in full by the end of the year. I asked to speak to the supervisor directly and she put me on hold for another five minutes. When she came back she said there was not a supervisor available and she would take my number and someone would call me back in 24 hours.

I am emotionally hurt, physically drained, economically poorer, and my trust level has dropped to 0%. I have been speaking out to anyone else who will listen. I don't know what else to do. I feel so small.

So now they are telling me it will take 30 business days from July 29 2008 becausethat is when it got to the right place which is ridiculous. My son is suffering because they dropped the ball and took 23 business days to get the information to the right department. My son only has until 12 months of age to truely correct the problem and he is currently 6 months. Cigna has already wasted 2 months of precious time that he could have been getting the proper help. In the meantime they have given me the runaround and lied and shoved me around only to get no answers only more waiting while my childs head gets worse.

My son head is very noticeably crooked and misshapen. Also his torticollis has not gotten better because his head needs fixed so we can fix his neck. We have to take him to physical therapy once a week to try to help and pay out of pocket for that.

I completed this in a timely manner, within a week, because I needed to make a request to the previous insurance company, wait for the document to be mailed, and then I would have to fax it to Cigna, where they would then scan it into their system, from there it would take up to 10 business days for the system to be updated. I did not learn any of these facts until my third phone call. The second phone call that I made approximately two weeks after the first was to verify that the information had been received. I was informed that it had been received but that I needed to provide more proof. I explained that I had been told I only needed to prove that I had not become a diabetic in the interum between health insurances. I was then corrected. They needed proof that I had health insurance coverage for one continuous year; so that I could be released from the pre-existing condition, while doing this I also needed to show that there was no more than 61 days of a lapse of insurance.

The fourth time that I called to verify that I had sent the proper documentation, I was told that I needed to send more because I was 20 days short of showing a year of coverage. I responded by asking what would happen if I did not send any more documentation? I was told that I would be put in a hold, which means that every time my endocrinologist or any thing that appeared to be for my diabetic condition presented, a survey would be sent to the patient and to my doctor. My endocrinologists billing department-where I am a current patient for 12 years-called and told me that Cigna informed them that a survey had been sent out. I have to this day not received the survey even after requesting it be sent to me after converation number 4 with my health insurance company.

What has inspired me to write this is the second phone call I received today, once again from my endocrinologists office, where the billing supervisor spoke to Cigna and was told that; I refused to provide any additional information. When I asked: what happens if I don't send any more documentation? that was considered refusal. I called my health insurance company for the sixth time today and was told that all documentation was up to date and that the last time my dr's office called was two weeks ago; however, the office had called this morning. Finally, under the HIPAA compliance act which is supposed to protect the patient; states under the federal government that you cannot request an excess of six months of health insurance coverage. How is this Cigna Plan even offered to the public?

As a result of this situation I have had to use time designated for lunch to make calls to old insurance companies, fax documentation, and follow up. I have received bills totaling $700.00, one of the bills is about to go to collections. Stress is something that most diabetics try to avoid, this situation has now been going on for four months.

Luckily I was reimbursed once for charges I was billed for. But this is an on going saga with no end in sight.

The insurance wanted me to pay for the full amount ($4,000) stating the Hospital was not part of the network. But, even if the hospital was not, I had a PPO at the time, which means if the hospital WAS NOT part of the network Cigna would still have responsibilities towards the bill; instead of a full amount coverage it would have to pay 60%.

After almost 2 years of fight, I was able to get them to recognize the Hospital and pay part of the bill. I am still fighting to have the remaining balance paid for.

If you have a choice (i.e. insurance not offered through your employer) run away from this company, it's just not worth it makes several mistakes with payments, misleads consumer with incorrect & false explanation of benefits.

My name was sent to collection for the amount of $1,200

I have always felt that the rate hikes were due to something wrong with CIGNA CORPORATION and possible stock fraud etc. so they raised the health insurance member rates to off set alleged stock fraud. I found out yesterday , since I own a few shares of CIGNA stock that Cigna had a class action suit filed against them for alleged misrepresntaion of their computer transformation system and alleged artificial stock inflation of common stock from Mov. 1, 2001 to oct. 24, 2002. there is a proposed settlement that CIGNA would have to pay out 93 million dollars to the people who lost money when they bought and sold common stock during 2001-2002.

Now I beleive that to offset the costs of their calss action suit and allegations of stock fraud and a propsed settlement that CIGNA Health Insurance then raised their rates in California and other states enormously. And I as well as other people are suffering. Inother words to offset a loss of 93 million dollars Cigna corpororation is price -gouging consumers who have their helath insurance.

TEIGIT is a group opf guilds such as the Dramatist guild , people in entertainment and writing and not all of us are so succcessful that we can afford these Health insurance rate hikes. Do you hae an investigative journalist that would lookin to this matter?

I now have to pay $3081 a quatrer for my health insurance premiums and I only make about $2600 a month from part-time work, diability payments and a friend renting a room in my house. And when ever I applied to any other health plan as an individual I got rejected due to pre-exisiting conditions which are not fatal or contagious. this includes AARP's Hospital advantage plan, Aetna, And Midwest life Insurance of Tennessee.

I have wasted valuable time and energy trying rto get on other health plans and I also applied to two government plans which took a lot of time and paperwork and I don't know if they will accept or reject me. the point is that I complained to every governemnt agency about this and today again complained ans asked them to investigate wheter or not the Class action law suit against CIGNA or the alleged stock fraud is realtred to these enormous rate hikes by CIGNA Helath insurance here in California. I call it pulling an Enron.

I am tired of complaining to govt. agencies that do nothing and tired of the discrimination I get when I apply to private health incurance plans as an individual and I know I am not the only one in this boat.

But Cigna does not consider or don't care about individuals or group of people that needs insurance.

Cigna has the power and ability to increase premiums without any regards to the people.

Cigna increased the premium up to 300% this year!

Are they not making enough money?

This is a case of an increase in my premium without
notifying me. I was paying $1153 for the last year or more than that.
then all of a sudden this month, I have to pay $2095.10! That is a big jump from the amount I
was paying for no reason at all.
I was not abusing the plan or benefits nor was I

using it a lot for outrageous costs.

that is an increase of $939 which is outrageous!

the other members were using it a lot therefore, I have to pay for this... I am self-employed and I work to support myself and pay for this health insurance among other insurances I have to have.

But a $939+ increase is inhuman.

Then, every time I call there is a different reason why the claim isn't paid, the customer service rep promises to check the inconsistencies and call me back. I receive a call-back roughly 50% of the time. In my latest conversation this morning, the rep says my claim is in limbo b/c the cost of the prescribed medicine is too high and my doctor failed to provide the necessary information. Yet, there is NO COST information required on the doctor's form, downloaded from the Cigna website.

Additionally, I have received ZERO communication on prescription reimbursements submitted beginning March 24, 2006. The claims are not even processed yet - nearly a month and a half after submission.

They continue to come up with excuses not to pay even though they are not at all valid and have informed me after I get the letter from the doctor (the doctor that seems to have rotated to another hospital and cannot be found), then there are more hoops I have to jump through. As soon as I track the doctor down to get the form filled out that they have sent me, no doubt they will say I have a preexisting condition based on telling the doctor that I urinate alot at night and have always - that might be considered a history of a condition and that is not even a condition. Many people complain that this company does not pay claims and that they may as well be wearing a black mask and a gun....

emotional stress from having to do their job by tracking down the doctor and jumping through a thousand hoops to get them to pay a claim, and financial stress from the claim being perptually unresolved, paying their monthly bills and receiving no service...these people are crooks.

On 9/18, the check was processed for $469 payable to the provider, Rebecca Appelbaum, and sent to the address indicated in her invoice.

I tried to call Rebecca Appelbaum at the phone numbers she had given me but all the numbers are disconnected. I heard that she rellocated somewhere in Florida. There is no way I can track her down to get the reimburesement from her. CIGNA is at fault because they did not perform due diligence in processing the check.