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Cigna San Jose Dentist Fremont Dentist Hayward Dentist Dental Insurance... eastbaydentist.com | Cigna Insurance Health Plan: Cigna Insurance Signs Formal agreement for wockhardthospitals.net | Cigna San Jose Dentist Fremont Dentist Hayward Dentist Dental Insurance... starbritedental.com | Hopewell Junction, NY - Cigna Orthodontic Team, Salvatore A. cignaorthodontics.com |
 CIGNA Corporation (NYSE: CI) is an American for profit health insurance company. The health care headquarters are located in Bloomfield, Connecticut, while the corporate headquarters are located at Two Liberty Place in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. CIGNA also has a major footprint in the Phoenix, AZ metro area running a full-service staff-model HMO with satellite clinics throughout the region.[1]
[edit] Quality of CareIn California's Office of the Patient Advocate Health Care Quality Report Card, CIGNA scored 2 out of 4 stars in Meeting National Standards of Care and 1 out of 4 stars in How Members Rate Their HMO.[2] In U.S. News and World Report's 2007 annual ranking of US commercial health plans, CIGNA's highest and lowest rankings are as follows, out of 250 rated plans[3]:
[edit] EthicsMain article: Nataline Sarkisyan In December 2007, CIGNA was criticized by hundreds of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals after the company refused to pay for a liver transplant of a California teenage girl, Nataline Sarkisyan, justifying their refusal to pay by claiming that the procedure was "too risky", even though there was a liver ready and waiting to be transplanted and doctors estimated she had a 65% chance of surviving at least 6 months.[4] In response to much protest and public scrutiny, CIGNA finally reversed its decision, but only too late to save Ms. Sarkisyan who died awaiting the transplant. [5] CIGNA notes that it had no financial stake in the decision to authorize the transplant because it merely administers the insurance plan of Mr. Sarkisyan's employer and would not bear the cost of any operation. However, CIGNA was offering to pay for the transplant itself when made the exception to the policy.[6] Even though liver transplants have been performed since 1963 and are a well accepted treatment option for end-stage liver disease and acute liver failure, CIGNA defended its actions by claiming that there was insufficient data to show that a transplant for a patient in Sarkisyan's condition would be safe and effective.[6] Lawyers for her family are exploring litigation against CIGNA. Recently the California court agreed with CIGNA's position that the Sarkisyan's claims regarding CIGNA's decision making were without merit. On April 16, 2009, the United States District Court for the Central District of California dismissed all of the claims against CIGNA related to the coverage determination. [7] However, in October 2009, the Sarkisyan's filed suit against CIGNA for the cruel response that the family received in 2008 when they visited CIGNA's Philadelphia headquarters, were heckled by the firms' employees, and one CIGNA employee gave them the finger. Circuit Court Judge Gary Allen Feess ruled that the Sarkisyan's could file the suit for emotional distress caused by the incident. [8] Most recently, CIGNA has been the target of a well-publized campaign to support a cancer victim named Dawn. In 2005, Dawn was diagnosed with a rare, but treatable brain tumor. CIGNA denied her treatment. Non-profit organizations such as MoveOn are fighting against CIGNA to ensure that Dawn is treated. [edit] AwardsCIGNA received gold in the 2009 Gartner & 1to1 Customer Experience Excellence Award. The awards are given to the companies that "most clearly demonstrate exemplary customer relationship strategy and an unrivaled level of excellence in delivering the customer experience". [9] [edit] LobbyingCIGNA has spent more than $4.4 million from 2005 to 2009 on lobbying to attain legislation that the company favors. This includes $720,000 spent in 2009 alone, when it had 20 lobbyists at five different firms working on their behalf.[10] [edit] Competitors
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