Cigna Whats the Deal?

[vic120]

I just spoke to an agent about Cigna's approval timeline yesterday and someone already mentioned it. They didn't staff up for AEP or they are getting a lot more business than they anticipated.

It was taking weeks to get approval instead of days.

Supposedly by Jan. 1st it will be smooth sailing with underwriting ...

Like I said I understand long underwriting, I just had a healthy person approved with Aetna took over 2 1/2 weeks. I have had situations in past years where it was over a month,

My issue is with the misinformation about the portal not connecting to there internal system and telling me people are approved, Like this guy I told it was OK to cancel his insurance only to find out later he is in fact still in underwriting

Now what if he is not approved I have to call him and say what?

 

[Glen Shelton]

Like I said I understand long underwriting, I just had a healthy person approved with Aetna took over 2 1/2 weeks. I have had situations in past years where it was over a month,

My issue is with the misinformation about the portal not connecting to there internal system and telling me people are approved, Like this guy I told it was OK to cancel his insurance only to find out later he is in fact still in underwriting

Now what if he is not approved I have to call him and say what?

Yeah, that is not a good situation to be in. Hopefully they will approve ...

 

[ICACharleston]

Not necessarily the same at Cigna but UHC tells that when an app shows as pending that means it's been looked at ND forwarded to Medicare.
Also, I thought CMS had ruled that AEP business would be paid in 2017.

 

[Chazm]

Not necessarily the same at Cigna but UHC tells that when an app shows as pending that means it's been looked at ND forwarded to Medicare.
Also, I thought CMS had ruled that AEP business would be paid in 2017.

Sounds like Vic is only referring to med supps.

 

[Ronnie Carter]

This is the same insurer that bought HealthSpring, that great Medicare carrier founded by Herb Fritch -- and ruined it after just over two years.

In the town I live in, billing clerks at doctors' offices refer to them as "no-pay Cigna." They put up with them but hate them too.

---------------------------

"Also, I thought CMS had ruled that AEP business would be paid in 2017."

ICA, where did you hear that? News to me.

 

[vic120]

Like I said I understand long underwriting, I just had a healthy person approved with Aetna took over 2 1/2 weeks. I have had situations in past years where it was over a month,

My issue is with the misinformation about the portal not connecting to there internal system and telling me people are approved, Like this guy I told it was OK to cancel his insurance only to find out later he is in fact still in underwriting

Now what if he is not approved I have to call him and say what?

Ugg, I just got decline, What do I say to this guy after I told him to cancell his insurance?

When The Cigna Girl told me it was just a problem in the system not showing the approval and reassured me it was OK to tell this guy he is approved along with his wife, I did not question it but after time I starting to feel this was going to happen

I never had to deal with this I never would have told him if Cigna did not say so, Now what how do I say sorry told you to cancel Ins Sorry told you were approved but now you have nothing Sorry

I am sick to my stomach

 

[goillini52]

Ugg, I just got decline, What do I say to this guy after I told him to cancell his insurance?

When The Cigna Girl told me it was just a problem in the system not showing the approval and reassured me it was OK to tell this guy he is approved along with his wife, I did not question it but after time I starting to feel this was going to happen

I never had to deal with this I never would have told him if Cigna did not say so, Now what how do I say sorry told you to cancel Ins Sorry told you were approved but now you have nothing Sorry

I am sick to my stomach

I had something like that happen with AFLAC a couple of years ago. They sent me an e-mail telling me this guy was approved. I called them to confirm. I flat out asked them , "so I can call him and tell him he's got the policy?", and they said yes. I called and gave him the "good" news. 3 days later AFLAC sent me an e-mail saying that they needed more info from his Dr. To make a long story short, they declined him. I had no other options because they were the only company that he might have qualified for. He was pissed! He never cancelled his, he paid quarterly for his very expensive MOFO Plan N. I was done with AFLAC after that. I quickly moved the few policies I'd sold of theirs. Don't want to do business with a company like that. They didn't last much longer anyway.

I've always told people not to let their old one go until they have the new policy in hand. Just had to tell this story to a guy that was wanting to cancel his old policy before I had his new policy in his hands. He waited.


You'll probably be the bad guy unless you can put him with another company, I was, because I had nowhere else to put him. Hopefully you won't lose his wife's policy. What caused them to decline...what are his health conditions? Maybe you can put him somewhere else.

 

[G.Gordon]

Cigna has a reputation for being a PITA. That is why we decline to contract with any product they bring to the market and we have not regretted it. I've never lost a sale to them and when asked I'm very frank with the fact that because of their PITA reputation history of making a mess of things we don't contract with them and if a client wants them they are free to contact them directly, but we will not be their agent. That response is usually all they need to go with the plans we offer.

 

[vic120]

I had something like that happen with AFLAC a couple of years ago. They sent me an e-mail telling me this guy was approved. I called them to confirm. I flat out asked them , "so I can call him and tell him he's got the policy?", and they said yes. I called and gave him the "good" news. 3 days later AFLAC sent me an e-mail saying that they needed more info from his Dr. To make a long story short, they declined him. I had no other options because they were the only company that he might have qualified for. He was pissed! He never cancelled his, he paid quarterly for his very expensive MOFO Plan N. I was done with AFLAC after that. I quickly moved the few policies I'd sold of theirs. Don't want to do business with a company like that. They didn't last much longer anyway.

I've always told people not to let their old one go until they have the new policy in hand. Just had to tell this story to a guy that was wanting to cancel his old policy before I had his new policy in his hands. He waited.


You'll probably be the bad guy unless you can put him with another company, I was, because I had nowhere else to put him. Hopefully you won't lose his wife's policy. What caused them to decline...what are his health conditions? Maybe you can put him somewhere else.

Combo Diabetes (Pill Only) and on maintenance med for heart attack 15 years ago

 

[goillini52]

Combo Diabetes (Pill Only) and on maintenance med for heart attack 15 years ago

That's easy...Bankers Fidelity.

The guy I mentioned that I had him wait until the policy was in his hand takes a pill for Diabetes and has several stents, the last one was 3 years ago. Bankers Fidelity took him, no problem. They're also priced better than Cigna here.