Cigna pulls contract: Chesapeake Regional remains devoted to region’s patients

May 17, 2023

CHESAPEAKE, Va. – Services at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center will be considered out-of-network for members of Cigna’s employer-sponsored insurance plans, effective June 1. Cigna has terminated a contract with Chesapeake Regional that has been in place for decades. It wants the regional health system to sign a contract accepting significantly lower reimbursement rates, which would be detrimental and unsustainable for Chesapeake Regional. Cigna has also misled its members, stating that Chesapeake Regional’s prices are above market.

Regardless of coverage, patients in need of emergency services may continue to receive care at Chesapeake Regional.

“It is unfortunate that Cigna created this predicament, resulting in misspent time and energy,” said Reese Jackson, President & CEO of Chesapeake Regional Healthcare. “We have been more than accommodating by responding to Cigna’s desires for new contractual terms and are extremely perplexed that Cigna would mislead its members with an assertion that Chesapeake Regional is requiring higher-than-average rates. This is simply untrue. Chesapeake Regional represents high value services at a fair and appropriate price and is more than willing to reach an accord. We have in fact engaged an experienced third-party professional to achieve this end.”

Like most hospitals across the country, Chesapeake Regional is experiencing higher expenses associated with labor, drugs, and supplies as well as the rising overall costs of hospital stays.

According to the American Hospital Association, the combination of hospital expenses has resulted in a 17.5% increase between 2019-2022.1 In contrast, average insurance premiums and deductibles have risen almost 90% in recent years stressing patients with rates much higher than what insurance companies spend on health care services.2 Cigna Group, the parent company for Cigna Healthcare, is a for-profit, publicly traded health company that is #12 on the 2023 Fortune 500 list with annual revenues of more than $180 billion.

Chesapeake Regional remains committed to the region and will continue to make sizeable investments in critical care, obstetrics, cancer care and open-heart surgical services to provide innovative health care for its community.

Patients impacted by Cigna’s sudden change should contact their customer service department at 1-800-997-1654 (24 hours a day/365 days a year), their employer’s human resources/benefits department to find out more, or the Virginia Bureau of Insurance at 804-371-9741 or via email BureauofInsurance@scc.virginia.gov.

1 Health Insurance Costs, Out-of-Pocket Expenses Surge for Virginia Families as State Health Care Spending Remains Below National Average. VHHA.com. February 2, 2023.
2 The Financial Stability of America’s Hospitals and Health Systems Is at Risk as the Costs of Caring Continue to Rise. AHA.org. April 2023.