The University of Chicago Medicine Enters Partnership with Cigna-HealthSpring for Medicare Advantage

The University of Chicago Medicine Enters Partnership with Cigna-HealthSpring for Medicare Advantage

<0> Cigna-HealthSpringGraham Harrison, 615-294-4669orUniversity of Chicago MedicineAshley Heher, 773-702-0025 </0>

TheUniversity of Chicago Medicine and today announced that UChicago will join Cigna-HealthSpring’s Medicare Advantage provider network. The agreement, which will become effective January 1, allows customers who enroll in a Cigna-HealthSpring plan to choose from a network of 40 UChicago Medicine primary care physicians and more than 900 specialists. This year’s Medicare Annual Enrollment Period runs through December 7.

“We are so pleased to partner with an internationally recognized health system the caliber of the University of Chicago Medicine,” said Cyanne Demchak, Medicare market lead for Cigna-HealthSpring in Illinois. “We look forward to achieving better short- and long-term value for our Chicago-area customers through this exciting new partnership.”

UChicago Medicine and Cigna-HealthSpring have collaborated with state-sponsored Medicare and Medicaid services since April 2014 including the Medicare-Medicaid Alignment Initiative (MMAI), which serves patients eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, and the Integrated Care Program (ICP), which is for patients eligible for Medicaid. UChicago Medicine is also part of Cigna’s commercial network.

University of Chicago Medicine physicians in the network will participate in Partnership for Quality (P4Q), Cigna-HealthSpring’s proven quality care program that rewards physicians based on their performance with approximately 36 evidence-based quality measures. Cigna-HealthSpring’s care coordination model aligns incentives and provides clinical and data-management support to help physicians achieve better health results, lower medical costs and a better experience for their patients.

“With its strong focus on patient-centered care, prevention and improved health outcomes, Cigna-HealthSpring is a like-minded partner for us,” said Brenda Battle, UChicago Medicine’s vice president of Care Delivery Innovation. “Based on this successful and collaborative relationship, we will be able to provide outstanding primary and specialty care to seniors in our community.”

Cigna-HealthSpring, a Cigna company (NYSE:CI), is one of the country's leading health plans focused on delivering care to the senior population, predominately through Medicare Advantage and other Medicare and Medicaid products. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Cigna-HealthSpring offers a national stand-alone prescription drug plan and operates health plans in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit .

The University of Chicago Medicine and its Comer Children’s Hospital rank among the best in the country, most notably for cancer treatment, according to survey of the nation’s hospitals. The University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine has been named one of the Top 10 medical schools in the nation, by "Best Graduate Schools" survey. University of Chicago physician-scientists discovered REM sleep and were the first to describe several of the sleep stages. Twelve of the Nobel Prize winners have been affiliated with the University of Chicago Medicine.

Visit our research blog at and our newsroom at .

All Cigna products and services are provided exclusively by or through operating subsidiaries of Cigna Corporation. The Cigna name, logos, and other Cigna marks are owned by Cigna Intellectual Property, Inc. This information is available for free in other languages. Please call our Customer Service number at 1-800-668-3813 (TTY 711), 7 days a week, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. The benefit information provided is a brief summary, not a complete description of benefits. For more information, contact the plan. Limitations, copayments, and restrictions may apply. Benefits, formulary, pharmacy network, provider network, premium and/or copayments/coinsurance may change on January 1 of each year. Cigna-HealthSpring is contracted with Medicare for PDP plans, HMO and PPO plans in select states, and with select State Medicaid programs. Enrollment in Cigna-HealthSpring depends on contract renewal.