FL rate increases

[annon123]

Well here is hoping that under new ownership the problems with Cigna will be fewer.

Some years ago I had employer Cigna. Had real problems with them accurately paying claims during one of my cancers (and the university medical system I owed refused to fix the issues...). Finally I had to involve the state insurance commission. That attorney fixed the issues (and I was, as it turned out, right) and said she never wanted to deal with CIgna nor my provider's billing office ever again. Neither did I. While that was employer insurance I can't imagine their medicare was run any differently.

 

[Chazm]

Actually the sale was finalized 3/19/2025

I should have said, Cigna is keeping the name/biz as usual through the end of the year.

 

[GoPokes]

Cigna has always been my absolute last choice for MAPD's.....well, aside from WellCare, who is dead to me for reasons you all know.

As you said, their agent portal is absolutely atrocious, although I'll give them a minor bonus point, as it has gotten better the past few years, but still sucks.

Their network for their PPO's is also terrible. The company is run like absolute garbage. It's like a who's who of participation trophies and quotas. I could tell that right from the get-go.

The management team were sending out constant emails of their rules, regulations, and procedures for a few years in my state. All of them had a threatening tone.....didn't appreciate that at all, and wrote other companies as a result.

A lot of "Make sure you do it this way or you're gonna get written-up" type stuff. It was wild. Not exactly a great strategy to keep brokers writing your company.

It was astoundingly stupid. They were typing as if they were talking to employees. Newsflash, we brokers are independent and don't have to write anything for your garbage-@ss company, so be nice.

Capisce?

One of my friends did a Cigna PDP voice recorded enrollment during AEP, and a few weeks later Cigna did an investigation and asked for the recording, just because they wanted to. He did nothing wrong, and the application hadn't been ven gone into effect yet. I've never heard of a carrier doing something like that. Cigna certainly knows how to scare off agents.

 

[sman]

I wrote about 15 or so with Cigna this AEP. Then, in late February they announce they are in negotiations with Piedmont (that's a local hospital system and medical group here in Georgia). Current contract expired end of March. I had to move 10 of these to new plans before the end of March.

As you know, the crappy part about this is you lose all of the commission and then get reduced commission with the new carrier. Ended up costing me about $1,300-$1,400 (two of them were new to MAPD). Extra work for less pay is always fun.

 

[somarco]

I should have said, Cigna is keeping the name/biz as usual

When this has happened before, the new carrier assumes TPA duties . . . premiums, claims, commissions . . . but it isn't always business as usual. Policyholders get letters from the assuming carrier which causes confusion.

I had calls and emails from clients wanting to know why I changed their plan. It was a real mess.

 

[billyb]

I think the Medicare supplement and the MAPD are 2 different departments with Cigna. I don't write MAPD or PDP, only supplements. I have had no issues at all with getting a policy issued or claims. I would be receiving calls from clients if it was an issue.

UHC is Area 4 here. The monthly premium in June will be $241.05 MNT and $231.55 FNT. Cigna is $204.39 MNT and $182.49 FNT. That difference is a tough sale for name recognition. If I had someone who insisted on a household name I would be forced to sell them Humana at $229.55 or FB at $230.64 but still a significant difference in price.

When we turned 65 me and my wife bought WPS. I had never heard of them but we have had no issues. They suspended sales in FL for 2025. Rates are still lower than Cigna. An agent has no way of knowing what future rate increases will be.

 

[pogo]

On the plus side, I found Cigna trainings to be excellent. Their detailed explanation of how the Prescription Payment Plan would work was outstanding.

But, nope, great training doesn't overcome lousy products. I never enrolled a single person in a Cigna plan.

 

[somarco]

Cigna, formerly two carriers . . . CG (Connecticut General) and INA (Insurance Company of North America) was never a player in the Medicare market until a few years ago.

Both were originally commercial P&C carriers. CG was a significant player in the large group health market especially the ASO and medical stop loss market.

I was never impressed with the Medicare product line . . . glad to see them go.