After the two parties were unable to negotiate a new contract, Jefferson's Health will now be considered out-of-network for patients using The Cigna Group.
As of March 15, appointments and treatments at the Center City healthcare provider and the 32 hospitals it operates will no longer be in-network, with some exceptions, increasing costs for those on Cigna insurance plans. Jefferson and Cigna said they will continue talks in the hopes of reaching a new contract.
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"We understand that this news may cause concern, and we want to reassure our patients that we remain committed to providing high-quality care," Jefferson said in a statement. "We continue to negotiate in good faith with Cigna to reach a resolution that is fair and sustainable for our patients, providers and community."
As the two parties continue negotiating, emergency care will still be in-network, Jefferson said. Some patients can also qualify for a care transition program to maintain in-network benefits, and certain plans have out-of-network benefits that would allow patients to continue seeing the Jefferson's doctors and providers. Jefferson has been part of Cigna's network for over 20 years.
In a statement about the news, Jefferson said that Cigna's reimbursement rates to the healthcare institution have increased by less than 3%. Meanwhile, it said the Hospital Wage Index, which shows hourly labor costs, has gone up by 20%, and the price of medical supplies and operations continues rising.
Cigna, though, said Jefferson's asks would put more costs onto patients.
"Unfortunately Jefferson Health is choosing to leave our network due to their unreasonable demands for rate hikes that would raise health costs for the people we serve," Cigna said in a statement to the Philadelphia Business Journal. "We will continue to negotiate with Jefferson Health to reach a fair agreement that will keep health care affordable for patients."
Jefferson claimed it was "committed to fair and sustainable partnerships" in a video linked in its statement, noting that it had successfully reached contract agreement with all the other insurance providers it works with.
Main Line Health also nearly left the Cigna network earlier this year, but the two parties were able to reach an agreement before their contact expired on Feb. 15.
