A Message for our Cigna Patients
A Message for our Cigna Patients
Cigna Update (8/27): Agreement Reached! We are pleased to announce that Hunterdon Medical Center and its partner physicians will remain in-network with Cigna. Our ability to negotiate fair and reasonable contracts is critical to Hunterdon remaining the viable, independent health system for those who live in our communities and rely on for necessary care. We wish to thank our patients, local employers, and the members of our community who have been so supportive during these past few months and we are glad Cigna members will continue to have uninterrupted access to all of the services offered by Hunterdon Health and its dedicated physician partners.
Cigna Update (8/23): We wanted to provide a brief update, Hunterdon Health continues to be in daily discussions with Cigna and we hope to have a resolution soon.
Cigna Update (7/26): As a result of the progress being made in our ongoing negotiations, Hunterdon and Cigna have agreed to a thirty-day contract extension. This means that Hunterdon physicians will continue to be in the network until 9/1. We remain hopeful an agreement can be reached and will provide further updates as they become available. Hunterdon would like to thank our patients and members of our community for their continued support.
On July 3rd, Hunterdon Medical Center will celebrate its 71st anniversary of caring for our community. Our commitment to healthcare remains rooted within our 178-bed teaching hospital and our dedicated physician partners who serve patients at over 100 primary and specialty practice sites throughout Hunterdon, Somerset, Mercer, Warren and Morris counties. As we continue to evolve and grow to meet the needs of an expanding and vibrant community, our patients will always be at the center of our care.
Like most healthcare providers across the country, we’re facing significant challenges due to rising costs of inflation, staffing/ supply costs and physician/healthcare provider shortages to provide patient care. Our approach has always been to be a reasonable partner with health insurers, but we also need to remain financially viable and pay the same as other insurers.
Hunterdon Health has been negotiating a new contract with Cigna for the past six months. Unfortunately, discussions are currently at an impasse. While we remain hopeful an agreement can be reached, we are aware that Cigna has notified its members that its agreements with Hunterdon Health may be terminating. In addition, Cigna patients will also be receiving a letter from Hunterdon Health. Hunterdon Medical Center and its physician affiliates would like to accept Cigna. Patients can voice their concerns to Cigna and let them know that as the sole community hospital in Hunterdon County, it is important that you have in-network access to necessary care close to home.
Hunterdon Health will continue to work with Cigna to reach an agreement that will continue to allow us to provide high-quality care to our patients and preserve in-network benefits for our Cigna patients.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, as of today, July 1, 2024, Hunterdon Healthcare Partners physician practices and Hunterdon Medical Center are in network.
- If an agreement with the physicians is not reached by August 1, 2024, they will be out of network.
- If an agreement with Hunterdon Medical Center is not reached by September 15th, the hospital will be out of network.
- Emergency care will always be covered as an in-network benefit.
Hunterdon Health and its physician partners continue to have ongoing discussions with Cigna and hope we can reach an agreement to continue to provide uninterrupted care to our patients.
Hunterdon Health would like to remain in network with Cigna and are hopeful that we will be able to come to an agreement before the August 1st date. However, in the event we are unable to do so, health plans are typically required to continue to provide care at the in-network benefit level for patients undergoing active treatment. In that case, Cigna would work with your physicians to determine what the in-network continuity of care provisions would be based on your particular circumstance. It is best to call Cigna directly to discuss this (the number is on the back of your insurance card).
Patients can voice their concerns to Cigna and let them know that having access to Hunterdon physicians is very important and as the sole community hospital in Hunterdon County, it is vital that you have in-network access to necessary hospital care close to home. If you receive your Cigna coverage through your employer, you may also wish to contact your human resources benefits representative. There are many other insurance plans available that provide in-network access to Hunterdon Health.
If you have clinical questions regarding your care and insurance coverage, talk to your physician and Cigna directly.
Hunterdon Health’s financial counselors can be reached at 908-788-6194 and can assist with questions.
● Aetna
● Aetna Assure Premier Plan
● Aetna Better Health
● Aetna CVS Health
● Aetna Medicare Solutions
● Aetna Medicare Advantage (All plans)
● AmeriHealth - Hunterdon Medical Center does not accept the Local Value Plan, we do participate in the Value Plus Plan
● Beech Street
● Cigna (as of 7/1/24 - under current negotiations)
● Cigna Medicare Advantage (as of 7/1/24 - under current negotiations)
● Consumer Health Network (CHN)
● First Health
● HMC Patient Assistance Program
● Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
● All Blue Cross Plans through Blue Card Program
● Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield Indemnity
● Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield Direct Access (All product types)
● Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield EPO (All product types)
● Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO (All product types)
● Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield OMNIA (All product types)
● Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield POS (All product types)
● Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO (All product types)
● Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Advantage (All product types)
● Horizon Casualty
● Horizon NJ Health
● Horizon NJ TotalCare
● Horizon Value Access Plan-only offices in Morris, Hunterdon, Sussex, and Warren
County
● MagnaCare
● Medicare
● Medicaid
● Multiplan
● Oxford Health Plan PPO
● Oxford Health Plan HMO
● Oxford Medicare Advantage Plans-must reside in NJ
● Physician Healthcare Systems (PHCS)
● QualCare PPO
● Tricare (not accepted by Hunterdon Behavioral Health)
● United Healthcare (all United Healthcare products not accepted by Hunterdon Behavioral Health)
● United Healthcare-Veterans Affairs Community Care Program
● United Healthcare Dual Complete
● United Healthcare Community Plan (NJFAMCAR )
● United Medicare Advantage Plans-must reside in NJ
● United Medicare Advantage Private Fee for Service Plans (PFFS)-must reside in NJ
- AARP Medicare Complete
- Aetna
- Aetna Better Health
- Aetna CVS Health including Whole Health
- Aetna Assure Premier Plan (Dual Medicare/Medicaid HMO plan)
- Aetna Medicare Solutions
- Aetna Medicare Advantage (All plans)
- Aetna Metal Plans (Gold, Bronze, Silver, Catastrophic)
- Aetna Select Open Access
- Aetna Trustmark
- Aetna Senior Supplemental
- AmeriHealth (we do accept the Value Network Plan and Value Plus Plan, but we do not accept the Local Value Plan)
- Anthem (PPO)
- Anthem Medicare
- Beech Street
- Champus - Tricare
- Cigna (as of 7/1/24 - under current negotiations)
- Cigna Greatwest (as of 7/1/24 - under current negotiations)
- Cigna Healthspring Medicare Advantage (as of 7/1/24 - under current negotiations)
- Cigna Medicare Advantage (as of 7/1/24 - under current negotiations)
- Consumer Health Network (CHN)
- Emblem Health-Qualcare
- First Health
- GHI only through Qualcare or St.Barnabus
- HMC Patient Assistance Program
- Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
- All Blue Cross Plans through Blue Card Program
- Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield Indemnity
- Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield Direct Access (All product types)
- Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield EPO (All product types)
- Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO (All product types)
- Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield OMNIA (All product types)
- Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield POS (All product types)
- Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO (All product types)
- Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Advantage (All product types)
- Horizon Casualty
- Horizon NJ Health
- Horizon Federal Employee Plan
- Horizon NJ TotalCare (Dual Medicare/Medicaid plan)
- Horizon Omnia (Tier 1 facility)
- Horizon Value Access Plan-only offices in Morris, Hunterdon, Sussex and Warren County
- Humana Choice PPO
- Humana - Qualcare only
- Independent Administrators
- Independence Keystone
- Independence Personal Choice
- MagnaCare
- Magnacare Local 825
- Medicare
- Medicaid
- Meritain Health
- Multiplan
- Oscar (through Qualcare or Cigna)
- Oxford Health Plan PPO (excluding behavioral health)
- Oxford Health Plan HMO (excluding behavioral health)
- Oxford Medicare Advantage Plans-must reside in NJ (excluding behavioral health)
- Physician Healthcare Systems (PHCS)
- QualCare PPO, POS, HMO, EPO
- Surest
- Tricare/Champus* (*Hunterdon Family Practice and Obstetrics only.)
- Trustmark
- United Healthcare (excluding behavioral health)
- United Healthcare Golden Rule (excluding behavioral health)
- United Healthcare Gold Compass (excluding behavioral health)
- United Healthcare Community Plan (NJFAMCAR) (excluding behavioral health) (not Dual Complete)
- United Healthcare Medicare Advantage Plans-must reside in NJ (excluding behavioral health)
- United Healthcare Medicare Advantage Private Fee for Service Plans (PFFS)-must reside in NJ (excluding behavioral health)
- United Healthcare Nexus ACO (tier 1) (excluding behavioral health)
- United Healthcare ONEX & OFEX (excluding behavioral health)
- United Healthcare Oxford Navigation (excluding behavioral health)
- VA CCN (Veterans Affairs)
As long as your supplemental policy doesn't have any network restrictions (i.e. is a true Medigap policy) then you should be able to continue to see any providers that accept Medicare, including Hunterdon providers. Your best resource for confirming any network restrictions under your plan is Cigna.