As of June 16, 2017, the CMS has lifted the enrollment and marketing sanctions against Cigna Healthcare. Cigna will be able to resume marketing its Medicare Advantage-Prescription Drug and Medicare Part D Plans immediately. They will be able to begin enrolling beneficiaries with effective dates starting July 1, 2017. The violations listed in the sanction notice have been corrected and confirmed by an independent audit, according to Cigna. CEO Shawn Morris stated, “As a company that puts customers first, we look forward to continuing that partnership while delivering high-quality health care plans to both existing and new customers.”
REQUIRED! All agents must complete the 2017 Certification Refresher Training before selling!
Cigna-HealthSpring requires all agents to complete a 45 minute refresher training course to ensure readiness and compliance. This web-based training must be completed before agents can order 2017 enrollment kits and resume selling.
Click here to complete your required 2017 Certification Refresher Training
Compliant Lead Management – For Your Information
To ensure a fresh start and compliant return to market, we have closed out all leads designated as “open”, “pending”, “assigned”, or otherwise “not enrolled” in our CRM systems. Due to the time passed since sanctions were initially imposed, these leads are now considered “stale” or non-compliant.
This action should not disrupt any marketing activities and will help us return to active marketing with a clean slate.
The following CMS guidelines provide more information:
Medicare Marketing Guidelines 70.6-Telephone Contact, the following telephonic contact is permitted: CHS (agents/brokers) are allowed to contact individuals who have expressly given permission for a plan or sales agent to contact them, for example, by filling out a business reply card (BRC) or asking a customer service representative (CSR) to have an agent/broker contact them. This permission applies only to the entity from which the individual requested contact, for the duration of that transaction, for the scope of product, (e.g., MA-PD plan or PDP), previously discussed or indicated in the reply card.
Examples of how this CMS guidance is applied include:
- If a customer fills out a Business Reply Card in 2016, but no one speaks to him/her and no additional permission to contact is obtained, then the Business Reply Card cannot be used in 2017.
- If a customer filled out a Business Reply Card and was contacted but had no interest in Cigna-HealthSpring products, this lead can no longer be used; duration of contact has expired.
In summary, all existing leads, including Business Reply Cards and/or other lead cards, will be considered expired and removed from our systems effective immediately. All Cigna-HealthSpring agents and brokers are prohibited from using this information to generate sales following our return to active marketing.
If you have questions regarding information, please contact your local Cigna HealthSpring representative or contact the Cigna-HealthSpring Agent Assistance Line by calling 1-866-442-7516 or emailing HAAL@HealthSpring.com
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