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CIGNA Disenrollment Information
:: What is disenrollment?
:: What are your choices for continuing Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage if you leave a CIGNA Medicare Rx plan?
:: When can you change your Medicare Prescription Drug choices?
:: What should you do if you decide to leave a CIGNA Medicare Rx plan?
:: What happens to you if CIGNA leaves the Medicare program or CIGNA Medicare SelectSM leaves the area where you live?
What is disenrollment?
"Disenrollment" means ending your membership in a CIGNA Medicare Rx plan. Disenrollment can be voluntary (your own choice) or involuntary (not your own choice). Some examples:
- Once you are enrolled in our plan, you can only disenroll (or enroll in a new plan) during certain times of the year. Unless you meet certain special exceptions, such as if you move out of CIGNA Medicare Rx service area or if you qualify for extra help, you can only disenroll from CIGNA Medicare Rx from November 15 through December 31 each year.
- There are also a few situations where you would be required to leave, including if you move out of a CIGNA Medicare Rx geographic service area, or if CIGNA leaves the Medicare program.
- We are not allowed to ask you to leave the plan because of your health.
Whether leaving the plan is your choice or not, this section explains your Medicare prescription drug coverage choices after you leave and the rules that apply.
Until your membership officially ends, you must retain your Medicare prescription drug services through your CIGNA plan, or you will have to pay for them yourself.
If you have any questions about how or when to disenroll from your CIGNA Medicare Rx plan or changing CIGNA plans, please call the CIGNA Customer Service Department at 1.800.735.1459. TTY/TDD users call 1.800.322.1451. CIGNA Medicare Rx representatives are available 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM local time, 7 days a week.
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What are your choices for continuing Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage if you leave a CIGNA Medicare Rx plan?
If you leave a CIGNA Medicare Rx plan you may have the choice of joining another Medicare Prescription Drug Plan or in a Medicare Health Plan (such as a Medicare HMO or PPO) with prescription drug coverage if any of these types of plans are available in your area and they are accepting new members. CIGNA offers many plan options depending upon your need.
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When can you change your Medicare Prescription Drug choices?
You may only disenroll from a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan during one of the periods outlined below.
There are 3 enrollment periods in which an individual may disenroll from a CIGNA Medicare Rx plan:
- The Initial Enrollment Period for Part D -- The initial enrollment period (IEP) is the period during which an individual is first eligible to enroll in a Part D plan.
- The Annual Election Period -- The Annual Election Period occurs November 15 through December 31 of every year.
- All Special Enrollment Periods
Once you are enrolled in our plan, you can only disenroll during a valid election period. Unless you meet certain special exceptions, such as if you move out of the CIGNA Medicare Rx service area or if you qualify for extra help. Please call the CIGNA Customer Service department to see if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period.
- During the Annual Enrollment Period and Special Enrollment Period(s), individuals may enroll, disenroll or choose another Prescription Drug Plan. Individuals may enroll in a Prescription Drug Plan during the Initial Enrollment for Part D. Each individual has one election per enrollment period; once an enrollment or disenrollment becomes effective the election has been used.
- After you request a switch, your plan will let you know, in writing, the date your coverage ends. If you don’t get a letter, call the plan and ask for the date.
In most cases, your disenrollment date will be the first day of the month that comes after the month we receive your request to leave. For example, if we receive your request to leave during the month of February, your disenrollment date will be March 1. There is an exception: if we receive your request between November 15 and November 30, the change will take effect on January 1 of the following year, unless you specifically ask for a disenrollment date of December 1.
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What should you do if you decide to leave a CIGNA Medicare Rx plan?
If you want to voluntarily leave a CIGNA Medicare Rx, you must take one of the 3 steps outlined below:
- Enroll in another plan (during a valid enrollment period);
- Giving or faxing a signed written notice to CIGNA or through their employer/union group, where applicable;
- Call the national Medicare help line. 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), (TTY/TDD users should call 1-877-486-2048).
Your disenrollment request must be signed and dated in order for us to process your disenrollment request.
We will then send you a letter that tells you when your membership will end. This is your disenrollment date -- the day you officially leave CIGNA Medicare RxSM. While you are waiting for your membership to end, you are still a member of CIGNA Medicare RxSM and must continue to get your prescriptions as usual through CIGNA Medicare Rx.
If you want to talk to someone who can help you decide if this is right for you, call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program.
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What happens to you if CIGNA leaves the Medicare program or CIGNA Medicare SelectSM leaves the area where you live?
If we leave the Medicare program or change our service area so that it no longer includes the area where you live, we will tell you in writing. If this happens, your membership in CIGNA Medicare Rx will end, and you will have to change to another way of getting your Medicare Prescription Drugs. All of the benefits and rules described in the Evidence of Coverage will continue until your membership ends. This means that you must continue to get your prescription drugs in the usual way through your CIGNA Medicare Rx plan until your membership ends.
CIGNA HealthCare of Arizona and Connecticut General Life Insurance Company (CGLIC) have contracts with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the government agency that administers the Medicare Program. These contracts renew each year. At the end of each year, the contract is reviewed, and CIGNA HealthCare of Arizona, CGLIC, or CMS can decide to end it. You will get 90 days advance notice in this situation. It is also possible for our contract to end at some other time, too. If the contract is going to end, we will generally tell you 90 days in advance. Your advance notice may be as little as 30 days, or even fewer days, if CMS must end our contract in the middle of the year. CIGNA HealthCare of Arizona has contracted with CMS since 1986 and CGLIC has contracted with CMS since 2006.
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Under certain conditions CIGNA can end your membership and make you leave the plan.
We cannot ask you to leave the plan because of your health. No member of any Medicare Prescription Drug Plan can be asked to leave the plan for any health-related reasons. If you ever feel that you are being encouraged or asked to leave a CIGNA Medicare Rx Plan because of your health, you should call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
We can ask you to leave the plan under certain special conditions. If any of the following situations occur, we will need to end your membership in a CIGNA Medicare Rx Plan.
- If you move out of our geographic service area or live outside the plan’s service area for more than six months at a time.
- If you do not stay continuously enrolled in both Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B. If you only have Part B, you must stay continuously enrolled in Medicare Part B.
- If you obtain prescription drugs through altered or falsified prescriptions. Altered or falsified prescriptions are considered a felony in the State of Arizona and other states. Submission of altered or falsified prescriptions to CIGNA will result in CIGNA HealthCare contacting local law enforcement. CIGNA HealthCare will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law and submit an Involuntary Disenrollment request to CMS. If you have a question or concern regarding a prescribed medication, please address your concerns with the prescribing provider.
- If you behave in a way that is unruly, uncooperative, threatening, disruptive, or abusive, and this behavior seriously affects our ability to arrange or provide medical care for you or for others who are members of a CIGNA Medicare Rx Plan. We cannot make you leave a CIGNA Medicare Rx Plan for this reason unless we get permission first from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the government agency that runs Medicare.
- If you fail to pay your monthly CIGNA Medicare Rx Plan premium, if any. We will notify you in writing prior to ending your CIGNA Medicare Rx coverage.
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You have the right to make a complaint if we ask you to leave a CIGNA Medicare Rx Plan.
If we ask you to leave your CIGNA Medicare Rx Plan, we will tell you our reasons in writing and explain how you can file a complaint against us if you want to.
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Last updated on: 07/05/2009
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