The 2022 Cigna Health Insurance Review

Why You Need Health Care Insurance

It is essential to have health insurance because medical care is becoming increasingly expensive. A visit to the doctor, dentist, or optician can eat into your monthly living expenses, but a serious illness, accident or major injury can devastate your finances. 

In the worst case, it could result in you losing your home or lead to bankruptcy.

U.S. Government Plans versus Private Health Plans

There are two main types of health insurance: public programs and private health insurance.

Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are government programs that  assist different age groups. Private health insurance is a policy that you buy from a private insurer and it is available to anybody regardless of age. 

Private health insurance is generally more expensive than public health care cover, but what you pay will depend on the extent of the coverage and other factors. 

If you have a job, you may also obtain health care insurance from your employer.

Your employer can buy what is known as group insurance, or employer insurance, from a private insurance company which provides cover for employees.

If you do not qualify for public health insurance or have health insurance through your job, you should consider buying health insurance from a private health insurer.

Medicare Explained

The government-funded Medicare health care program consists of four parts: 

Part A (Hospital Insurance), Part B (Medical Insurance), Part C (Medicare Advantage), and Part D (Prescription Drug Insurance).

Original Medicare

Medicare Parts A and Part B make up what is called Original Medicare or so-called Obamacare. It is a federal program for people over 65. If you are either under 65 and disabled, have end-stage renal disease (ESRD), or ALS (also called Lou Gehrig’s disease), you can also join Medicare.

If you are eligible for Original Medicare, your health care costs are either free or substantially reduced. 

Original Medicare insurance costs less than private insurance, but be aware that it has gaps in cover. As an example, prescription drugs are only covered under very specific circumstances and over-the-counter medications are largely excluded.

To learn more about prescription cover visit the government website at https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/prescription-drugs-outpatient

Medicare Advantage Plans 

Medicare Advantage - also known as Medicare Part C Plans - are available from private insurance companies that have an arrangement with the government. 

These plans bundle the in-hospital cover from Medicare Part A, the medical insurance from Part B and, in most instances, the prescription drug insurance that falls under Part D.  These Advantage Plans also include other benefits not available under Original Medicare.

Medicare Prescription Drug Plans

These are also called Medicare Part D Plans. Such plans cover take-home prescription medications, and the most commonly prescribed outpatient drug in many, but not all, instances.

You have the option of taking out a Prescription Drug Plan from a private insurance company if you have Original Medicare, or if you join a private health plan that does not include this cover.

Medicaid

You may qualify for free or low-cost care through Medicaid based on your income and family size.

In general, Medicaid provides health coverage for some low-income people, families, children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities. 

The program varies by state. In some states the program covers all low-income adults below a certain income level. 

Supplemental Health Insurance

Note that there are gaps in cover in the public health insurance plans and if you are on such a program, you can buy additional stand-alone insurance policies such as dental and vision cover from a private insurer. This is known as Supplemental Health Insurance.

Understand Your Out-of-Pocket Expenses

What you pay for health care insurance is not limited to the premium, or what you pay for the health care plan each month.

Even if a health care service is covered by your plan, you are expected to pay toward the cost of the treatment.

You need a good understanding of all the out-of-pocket expenses to work out which health care plan is best for you and your budget, because there are many different plans on offer from providers, each with its own set of rules.

Premium

The premium is essentially the monthly cost of joining a health insurance plan.

Under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, the five factors that play a role in the premium you will pay are: your age, location, whether or not you smoke, whether you choose an individual or family plan, and the plan tier (bronze, silver, gold or platinum). 

The tiers refer to the percentage you pay toward the cost of a health service covered by the plan. 

 On the bronze plan, you will pay 40% of the cost of care and the insurer will contribute 60%. 

 On the top platinum tier, the insurer pays 90% and you pay only 10% of the cost. 

 Bronze plans have the cheapest monthly premiums and platinum plans the highest.

Co-payment

You have to pay toward the cost of the medical services you use. This is called a co-payment or co-pay, and it is usually a fixed amount specified in the plan you choose. 

For example, your plan might require a $20 co-payment toward the bill you receive for visiting a doctor. Your insurer will pay the rest of the bill.

Deductible

A deductible is a specified amount that you must pay out of your pocket each year before the insurer will start paying for your health care expenses.

If, for instance, your deductible is $1,000, your insurer will only start paying for services once you have spent $1,000 - whether this is for a single medical service or multiple services.

Deductibles reset every year.

Not all plans have a deductible and cheaper plans will have larger deductibles.

Once the annual amount of the family deductible is reached, the insurer will pay for all the family members even if individual members have not reached their individual deductibles.

Coinsurance

 Coinsurance is another out-of-pocket expense that you’ll have to pay.

It is essentially the percentage of your medical expenses that you “insure” or pay toward your health care costs on a health insurance policy. 

If you choose a plan with a 20% coinsurance payment, you will pay for 20% of the cost of each health service that you use and the insurer will pay 80%.

The monthly premiums paid on plans with higher coinsurance percentages are cheaper than plans with lower coinsurance contributions. This is because you are carrying a larger proportion of the health care service than your insurer.

Coinsurance applies only after the deductible has been reached. So, you will pay 100% of the cost of medical care until you reach the amount of the deductible, then you and the insurance company will share the cost of the service based on the coinsurance percentage.

Out-of-pocket limit

This is the maximum you can be expected to pay out of your pocket toward insured services in a year.

When you have spent this out-of-pocket amount on deductibles, co-payments, and coinsurance, your insurance company will pay 100% for your medical expenses from that point until the end of the year.

In the new year, the deductible, co-payments, and out-of-pocket maximums start from scratch.

Cigna: The Company

As a health services company that operates globally, Cigna has more than 190 million customers and patients in more than 30 countries according to the company website.

It is one of the oldest insurance companies and has roots going back to 1792 when it started out as the first marine insurance company in the U.S. It officially came into being in 1982 when two companies merged.

Today it offers low-cost health insurance, Medicare Advantage and various Supplemental Insurance Plans for both individuals and families.

As a health insurance company, Cigna has around 65,000 pharmacies contracted to its provider network, which makes up more than 99% of U.S. pharmacies. 

In addition, it has more than 500 hospitals and over 265,000 mental and behavioral care providers in its network. That being said, it is important to look at what cover, if any, is provided for out-of-network providers. 

Cigna Medicare Advantage Plans are available in 26 states and Washington, D.C., and its Medicare Prescription Drug Plans in all 50 states, as well as Washington, D.C. Cigna has a range of dental plans available in 49 states, plus D.C.

Pros And Cons Of Cigna Health Insurance

It is a good idea to check out the pros and cons of a company before making a decision on any particular health care plan from an insurer.

Read further to see how Cigna performs:

Benefits

✅ Cigna is a well-established business.

✅ Individual health insurance plans have average prices.

✅ Wide network of doctors, hospitals, and other service providers.

✅ It has free telehealth access with its plans, which is open 24/7 every day of the year.

✅ Three types of Special Needs Plans through Medicare are available.

Limitations

❌ Some Cigna’s Medicare Advantage Plans tend to be more expensive than those of other insurers because of the high deductible. This means you have to spend a lot of money from your own pocket each year before Cigna pays 100% of the cost of a health care service you use.

❌ Medicare Advantage Plans are not widely offered.

Cigna Health Insurance Plans 

Cigna offers a range of health insurance policies for individuals and families including:

• Medicare Advantage Plans which cover vision, hearing, and dental plans to some extent.

• Dental and vision coverage plans are offered as stand-alone policies, which means they can be added to other plans.

• Employer group plans.

• Health savings account (HSA) plans.

• Supplemental Health Insurance offered by Cigna according to its website includes the following plans:

  • Lump Sum Heart Attack and Stroke pays out a cash sum to help pay for expenses if you suffer a heart attack or stroke.

  • Lump Sum Cancer Insurance assists with the medical expenses following a cancer diagnosis.

  • Cancer Treatment Insurance pays out a sum to help cover the treatment of cancer.

  • Hospital Indemnity Insurance which pays out a fixed cash amount you can use for medical expenses or any other type of expense.

  • Accident Treatment Insurance helps pay for treatment of injuries from an accident and related costs.

  • Life Insurance pays out a sum at your death from an accident or illness, which your family can use for your final expenses.

• Telehealth 24/7.

Many of Cigna’s individual and family health insurance plans give you access to remote medical assistance via a telephone. You can contact Cigna by visiting https://www.cigna.com/contact-us/ 

 You can use such a telehealth service in a non-emergency situation. Not all plans offer free telehealth consultations.

• Preventative Care. 

Cigna gives you 100% cover for preventative care if you visit a doctor or another service provider within its network. Examples of preventative care include flu shots and most routine screenings and vaccinations.

• Prescription Drug Plans.

Cigna has three types of Prescription Drug Plans with different levels of cover available to Medicare members. 

 The Cigna site has a handy medication comparison tool to show which medications are on your plan, what better priced alternatives are available, and which pharmacies fall within the Cigna network.

What Reviewers Say About Cigna

J.D. Power

The J.D. Power U.S. Commercial Member Health Plan Study considers various aspects of health care plans from the perspective of the consumer. J.D. Power investigates the cost, coverage and benefits, customer service, provider choice, and other factors of the Medicare Advantage Plans it reviews each year.

According to the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Medicare Advantage Study released in August 2022, Cigna ranked 791 out of 1,000 on its Overall Customer Satisfaction Index. Their top plan in this study achieved 844 out of 1,000.

ConsumerAffairs 

ConsumerAffairs is a private company that provides ratings based on real reviews from actual customers.

According to the ConsumerAffairs website, Cigna received an overall satisfaction star rating of 3.8 out of 5 based on 1,120 ratings. 

 This average reflects that some reviewers gave Cigna 5 stars, but others gave it only one star based on their individual experiences.

 You can visit the ConsumerAffairs website to see the customer reviews left by existing Cigna customers.

Source: customeraffairs

National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) is a private, nonprofit organization that assesses and rates health insurance policies each year. 

Their ratings are awarded based on patient care quality, satisfaction with the care received, and how much effort plans have made to improve. The lowest rating is one star and the highest is 5 stars.According to the 2022 NCQA Health Plan Report Card, the various Cigna Plans were given from 2.5 to 4 stars.

If you are considering a particular Cigna health insurance plan, visit the NCQA website to see how many stars the plan was awarded in 2022. NCQA Report Cards for Cigna Health Insurance Plans 2022.

 Cigna has been given full NCQA Managed Behavioral Healthcare Organization Accreditation for how well it delivers health care to its customers. 

This covers physicians, hospitals, as well as the way in which it manages the administration of services.

source: NCQA

Is Cigna Financially Sound?

A good way to assess whether a company is financially strong or not, is to have a look at what the rating agencies say about it.

Rating agencies assess and measure the financial health of companies and even countries.

In June 2022, credit rating agency AM Best gave Cigna Corporation and most of its subsidiary companies an improved credit rating. 

The rating was revised upward from “stable” to “positive” and AM Best describes the finances of Cigna Life & Health Group as “strong”.

In May 2022, Fitch Ratings also upgraded Cigna’s financial strength and pushed up its rating from A to A+.

Cigna and some of its subsidiaries also improved in the eyes of well-known ratings agency Standard and Poor’s, which revised its assessment of Cigna’s financial strength from “stable” to “positive” in June 2022.

How Cigna Compares With Other  Health Insurance Companies

Cigna vs. UnitedHealthcare 

Cigna vs. Aetna

Cigna vs. Humana

Summary: Why Choose Cigna Health Insurance

Cigna is a well-known, financially strong company with several low-cost health insurance products.

It provides Medicare, health, dental, and prescription drug insurance plans for both individuals and families.

It does not have the widest range of plans, but it does provide some good dental plans and special health care policies.

You should consider the Medicare Advantage Plans offered by Cigna. They are relatively cheap but are not that widely available, so check its availability in your state.

The pricing of Cigna's individual health plans varies. In some states they are cheaper than other options, but more expensive in others, so it depends where you live.

If you are shopping for a dental plan, Cigna offers plans with three levels of coverage. Each has different premiums and annual deductibles. 

If cover for orthodontics is important to you, look at the Cigna Dental 1500 Plan which covers this area of dental care - something which few plans cover.

Cigna gives you some extra perks which include an online portal and/or app to help you manage your health care plan by monitoring claims or finding service providers. 

Other benefits include free or cheap preventative care and virtual consultations which are available 24/7.

As far as complaints are concerned, Cigna has a slightly higher than average number of complaints than some other large competitors, but this will vary from year to year and between plans.

Still Have Questions Or Need Further Information? 

Call PolicyScout at 1-888-912-2132 or send an email to Help@PolicyScout.com to get assistance from one of our trained consultants about your health care options.

Cigna Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

Which is the best health care insurance provider?

There is no simple answer that will tell you which the best health insurer is. The best insurer for you is a health insurer that gives you value for money with a plan that suits your particular health care needs and budget, is financially sound, and deals with complaints efficiently and quickly. 

How Does Cigna rank in Health Insurance?

Cigna offers low-cost insurance plans and ranks slightly above average for complaints, but is a stable, well-established business with solid finances in the health care industry and is worth considering.

Does Cigna have a good reputation?

Yes. Cigna is a good insurance company although it receives slightly more complaints than its competitors, but this will vary by state and plan.