I have been battling with Cigna for almost a year, trying to get them to pay for one of the dexamethasone injections I had back in November of '09. I had four of these injections in a four-month period of time and they paid for all but one. The only explanation they could ever give me for denying payment was they wanted to know if I had any other medical insurance. When I told them no, I do not, and offered to provide them a letter from my employer as proof, I was told that would not be necessary and the claim would be paid. But it was not!
We are talking about $1600, so I did not, could not, let it go. As I continued to call Cigna, trying to get to the bottom of this, it lagged on. Eventually I was told the only way I could get resolution was to file an appeal because it had been more than 365 days since the service date. Really?! I call repeatedly for nine months offering any information necessary to get the claim paid and now I have to file an appeal because they can't communicate with each other?
I jumped through the hoops, spent a weekend compiling my notes, writing a summary of the events, and mailed the appeal certified mail. Then I waited again.
Three weeks later, I got an impersonal statement simply stating the claim has now been paid as if nothing happened. Of course, I am relieved. But an brief note of apology would have been nice. Nearly a year of worrying what we would do if we had to come up with $1600, monthly phone calls to Cigna restating the story, and the inconvenience of going through the appeal process and not a single acknowledgement of their incompentence in handling the claim.
Well, nonetheless, I am relieved and, of course, grateful for my health insurance and for all Cigna has paid through this ordeal.
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