Cigna Medicare Advantage 2021 Review

Cigna is the seventh-largest provider of Medicare Advantage [1], offering plans in almost half of U.S. states. The insurer also offers stand-alone Medicare drug plans nationwide.

Although most of Cigna’s Medicare Advantage members are in highly rated plans, the company’s offerings don’t always get top marks from third-party rating agencies.

Here’s what you should know about Cigna Medicare Advantage.

Cigna’s offerings have advantages and disadvantages.

• Member satisfaction: Cigna HealthSpring, a Cigna subsidiary, came in third out of nine Medicare Advantage providers in terms of member satisfaction in J.D. Power’s latest Medicare Advantage study.

• Low-cost options: A full three-quarters of Cigna’s Medicare Advantage offerings are $0-premium plans.

• Drug plans widely available: Cigna offers six stand-alone prescription drug plans that are available in all states and Washington, D.C.

• Breadth of benefits: Cigna offers a number of helpful member benefits, such as 24/7 telehealth, meal delivery and transportation to and from health facilities.

• Limited plan types: Although Cigna does have PPO plans, a majority of the company’s Medicare Advantage plans are HMOs, which require members to get most of their care from in-network providers.

• Limited availability: Cigna plans are available in only 23 states and Washington, D.C.

• Third-party ratings: The National Committee for Quality Assurance doesn’t give any Cigna plan a rating higher than 3.5 out of 5 on its ratings scale.

Cigna offers a few kinds of Medicare Advantage plans, and they vary in terms of structure, costs and benefits available. Cigna offers Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plans, or MAPDs, as well as stand-alone Prescription Drug Plans and Medicare Advantage Plans without drug coverage.

Plan offerings include the following types:

While many of Cigna’s Medicare Advantage plans include Part D drug coverage, the company also sells stand-alone Part D prescription drug plans. These plans are meant to accompany Medicare Part A and Part B and do not provide medical coverage.

Cigna offers drug coverage through six prescription drug plans, or PDPs, all of which have $0-copay options for certain medications if they’re bought through a qualifying mail order. Cigna’s plans are as follows:

• Cigna Secure Rx.

• Cigna Secure-Essential Rx.

• Cigna Secure-Extra Rx.

• Express Scripts Medicare – Choice.

• Express Scripts Medicare – Saver.

• Express Scripts Medicare – Value.

Cigna Medicare Advantage offers many members access to routine vision, dental and hearing coverage. Some plans offer other benefits as well. Here are a few standouts, although their availability varies by plan:

• 24/7 telehealth: Members with minor medical issues can speak to a medical professional any time of day.

• Over-the-counter allowance: Some plans include an OTC quarterly allowance that you can use to order items like aspirin, cold medicine and vitamins from Cigna’s OTC catalog. (You can shop online, over the phone or by mail.)

• Transportation services: Some plans include a certain number of nonemergency, one-way trips to or from health facilities within 60 miles.

• Silver&Fit Healthy Aging and Exercise Program: Some plans provide a fitness center membership or a home fitness program, depending on your needs.

• Home-delivered meals: Some plans include the option to have meals delivered to your home after you’ve been discharged from an acute inpatient hospital stay or skilled nursing facility stay.

• Cigna Case Management: Members with chronic conditions like diabetes or epilepsy can apply to this program, which helps them manage their condition using a team of nurses, pharmacists and health coaches, among others.

• Medication Therapy Management Program: Members with certain conditions who take specific medications can enroll in this program that may lower the risk of medication errors and help you make the most of your treatment.

Cigna Medicare Advantage members can contact their plan’s customer service in a few ways:

• Call a customer service representative at 800-997-1654, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. (TTY/TDD dial 711 and follow the prompts.)

• Chat with a member services representative, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time.

Cigna offers Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plans in 23 states and Washington, D.C., and Medicare prescription drug plans in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Altogether, Cigna offers Medicare Advantage plans in 369 counties [2].

Overall, Cigna is the eighth-largest health insurer in the country [3], and it is the sixth-largest in terms of for-profit health plans [4]. More than half a million Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Cigna Medicare Advantage plans [5].

Costs for Medicare Advantage plans will depend on your plan, your geographic location and your health needs. One of the costs to consider is the plan’s premium, and Cigna offers a $0-premium plan in every market in 2021. In fact, three-quarters (76%) of Cigna’s Medicare Advantage plans are $0-premium plans [6].

For Medicare Advantage plans with a premium, the monthly consolidated premium (including Part C and Part D) ranges from $17.90 to $139. For special needs plans, or SNPs, with a premium, monthly premiums range from $7 to $80 [7].

Even as a Medicare Advantage user, you’ll still be responsible for paying your Medicare Part B premium, which is $148.50 in 2021, although some plans cover part or all of this cost.

Other out-of-pocket costs to consider include:

• Whether the plan covers any part of your monthly Medicare Part B premium.

• The plan’s yearly deductibles and any other deductibles, such as a drug deductible.

• Copayments and/or coinsurance for each visit or service. For instance, there may be a $10 copay for seeing your primary doctor and a $45 copay for seeing a specialist.

• The plan’s in-network and out-of-network out-of-pocket maximums.

• Whether your medical providers are in-network or out-of-network, or how often you may go out of network for care.

• Whether you require extra benefits, and if the plan charges for them.

To get a sense of costs, use Medicare’s Plan Finder to compare information among available plans in your area. You can select by insurance carrier to see only Cigna plans or compare across carriers. You can also shop directly from Cigna’s website by entering your ZIP code.

Average star rating: 3.9

If you want Medicare’s take on Cigna’s plans, look no further than the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ own star ratings, which rank each plan from best (5 stars) to worst (1 star). The agency bases these ratings on plans’ quality of care and measurements of customer satisfaction, and ratings may change from year to year.

Based on the most recent year of data, Cigna’s Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans get an average rating of 3.8, and the company’s prescription drug plans (Part D) get an average score of 3.7 [8]. The overall average score for Cigna’s plans is 3.9. For comparison, the average star rating for plans from all providers was 4.06 [9]. One Cigna contract gets 5 stars: HealthSpring of Florida.

Although Cigna’s average plan rating is sub-4.0, most of Cigna’s members are in highly rated plans. Of members who are in contracts with a Medicare star rating, 87% are in contracts rated 4.0 or above in 2021 [10].

There are a few companies that weigh in on health plans or on the strength of the company in question, and we’ve included three here:

See how Medicare Advantage competitors stack up to Cigna.

Cigna, headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut, was created in 1982 when the companies of Connecticut General Corporation, or CG, and the Insurance Company of North America — known as INA — merged. Cigna offers health insurance for individuals and families, dental insurance, Medicare Advantage and Part D plans, Medicare Supplement Insurance, and other insurances such as whole life and cancer treatment insurance. The company also offers insurance for businesses. In 2020, Cigna posted $160 billion in adjusted revenues.

• What are the plan’s costs? Do you understand what the plan’s premium, deductibles, copays and/or coinsurance will be? Can you afford them?

• Is your doctor in-network? If you have a preferred medical provider or providers, make sure they participate in the plan’s network.

• Are your prescriptions covered? If you’re on medication, it’s crucial to understand how the plan covers it. What tier are your prescription drugs on, and are there any coverage rules that apply to them?

• Is there dental coverage? Does the plan offer routine coverage for vision, dental and hearing needs?

• Are there extras? Does the plan offer any extra benefits, such as fitness memberships, transportation benefits or meal delivery?

If you have additional questions about Medicare, visit Medicare.gov or call 800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227, TTY 877-486-2048).