"The Big Picture" Newsletter

November/December 2008 Issue

Integration of Great-West Healthcare Proceeds Smoothly and On Schedule

Medical management policy alignment underway

We continue to make progress leveraging the best practices from CIGNA and Great-West Healthcare to support the delivery of quality care. A key area of recent focus has been improving the health care experience for individuals enrolled in our plans - making it easier for them, their doctors and their other health care professionals.

Extensive work has been completed to align our medical management policies for coverage and precertification as of January 1, 2009.

By aligning the CIGNA and Great-West Healthcare medical management policies, we will be able to provide a common experience for health care professionals. The coverage policies of many services have been combined as of mid-September.

In addition, changes to the precertification list became available to our provider network on October 1, 2008. The new, integrated list will become effective on January 1, 2009, further streamlining the way we work together.  Highlights of the new, integrated precertification policies are:

• Fewer services require precertification;
• All inpatient admissions still require physician precertification; and
• As is our current policy, specific outpatient services require precertification.

In 2009, we will continue to provide integration updates to you as they occur.

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