An Industry Leader in Health – CIGNA Has a Long History in Insurance

One of the leaders in the industry of health, CIGNA Healthcare is part of the CIGNA Corporation. It is a for-profit health insurance company operating in the United States and internationally. It is a publicly-traded company under symbol CI. CIGNA Healthcare’s headquarters are in Philadelphia, PA and CIGNA’s corporate headquarters are in Bloomfield, CT. David Cordani is the current (2010) chairman and CEO.

CIGNA was formed in 1982 when the Connecticut General Insurance Corporation renamed itself the Connecticut General Corporation (CG) and merged with the Insurance Company of North America (INA). In 1984, CIGNA acquired AFIA, an international insurance underwriting association, and Dental Health, Inc. That same year it introduced reinsurance for organ transplants. In 1987 CIGNA began offering a managed health- and dental-care plan to Allied Signal employees. In 1989 CIGNA formed CIGNA International Financial Services to offer life and health insurance outside of the United States.

It also acquired MCC Companies, a leading provider of managed mental health care and substance-abuse programs. In 1990, CIGNA acquired EQUICOR, the nation’s sixth-largest provider of employee benefits. In 1993, CIGNA purchased Tel-Drug, a mail-order pharmaceutical company, and merged it with its own managed pharmacy-benefit program, RxPRIME. In 1996, CIGNA launched a dental PPO.

In 1997 CIGNA acquires Healthsource, a health care company whose products and markets include areas of the United States where HMOs are under-represented. In 2005, CIGNA acquired Choicelinx, a benefits technology and services company. In 2006, CIGNA acquired Star HRG, an operating division of HealthMarkets, Inc., and a leading provider of voluntary, limited benefit, low-cost health plans and other employee benefits coverage for hourly and part-time workers and their families. In 2009, CIGNA reported revenue of $18.4 billion and operating income of $1.3 billion.

CIGNA gets mixed reviews overall. In U.S. News and World Report’s 2007 annual ranking of US commercial health plans, CIGNA’s highest ranking was 18 for its New Hampshire offerings and its lowest was 198 for California. Also, In 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. In 2009, CIGNA received gold in the Gartner & 1to1 Customer Experience Excellence Award. CIGNA also recently received the JD Power award for customer service for all of its call centers for the fourth time in a row.

By: Tim Gaffey

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