Cigna Pharmacy Update: An update on Kroger and its affiliated pharmacies

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Sourced from Cigna Broker Communication from 10/14/22:

Kroger and its affiliated pharmacies recently notified Cigna that they would not participate in Cigna’s Medicare Advantage (MAPD) and Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) network, effective January 1, 2023. Please note, 2022 is not impacted.

We understand that the annual enrollment period (AEP) begins tomorrow and the timing of this announcement is less than ideal. However, we were only recently notified of the contract change with Kroger for 2023 and we felt it was important to share this information with you and your brokers regardless of the pre-AEP timing. We’ve sent communications to brokers licensed within each impacted market that includes the name(s) of the Kroger pharmacy or affiliate impacted by this change. Attached is a complete list of Kroger Pharmacy Affiliates for your reference.

As you can imagine, our AEP materials were prepared well in advance. We are diligently working to update the CMS Plan Finder, sales kits, Cigna’s online provider directory, and other online tools. In fact, updates to the online tools will be made by October 24.

We are doing everything we can to make this transition as smooth as possible for our customers. While we understand the disruption, Cigna Medicare has more than 63,000 network pharmacies available nationwide, which are listed in our online provider directory. Here are a few other large pharmacy chains that continue to be available to our customers:
• Walgreens
• Walmart
• Publix
• Rite Aid
• Winn-Dixie

Mail order is also available, delivering prescriptions right to customers’ mailboxes.

To provide you some insight into our member outreach strategy, beginning November 1, we will notify customers who have used a Kroger pharmacy in the past six months that Kroger and its affiliated pharmacies are terminating. In addition to the letter, we will actively engage customers through proactive, outbound calls to help them find an in-network pharmacy nearby. Our customer service team is also prepared to offer customers convenient alternative pharmacies for them to use

 

VIEW THE Affiliated pharmacies owned and operated by Kroger HERE

Exciting Updates to CignaforBrokers Portal

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Exciting updates coming to CignaforBrokers on September 15! 

Cigna is so excited to share the new and exciting improvements to their Cigna Broker Portal, CignaforBrokers.com, coming soon! 

Cigna has heard your feedback and continue to improve tools to make your selling experience easier! Starting September 15, you’ll see a new landing page and streamlined design across all Cigna lines of business. Here’s what else you can expect when you log in to CignaforBrokers.com starting on September 15:

  • Alerts for incomplete applications which require your attention
  • New easy access via direct links to your membership book of business and application status reports
  • New message panel to share important information that you need to know
  • News alert features under My Messages informing you of your ready-to-sell states, expiring licenses, or missing state appointments

Be on the lookout for even more improvements coming soon to CignaforBrokers including direct access to your MA Commission statements and State Medicaid look-up capabilities.

 

If you have any questions regarding Cigna’s portal, please reach out to your CSM Service Rep.

Reminder: Cigna AOR Protection

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Sourced from Cigna broker communication from 8/22/22: 

At Cigna:

  • We understand that sometimes existing customers need to change plans.
  • We would prefer that they remain with Cigna.
  • We want to reduce the work associated with plan changes and free your time to focus on servicing and growing your book of business.
  • We want you to trust that we will protect your interests and that we value you and your current relationship with the customers you’ve enrolled.

 

Our commitment to you

 When an internal Cigna agent completes a plan change for one of your existing Medicare Advantage customers, you will remain the Agent of Record (AOR) and continue to receive renewal commissions on plan changes.

 

How will we do this?

 

Cigna has established a Dedicated Plan Change unit that exists solely to help existing customers transition from one plan to another. This unit is staffed by licensed service representatives, not Sales Agents.

 

  • When an existing customer makes a plan change by calling our Dedicated Plan Change line directly, your AOR status will remain unchanged.
  • When an existing customer calls customer service inquiring about a plan change, the customer service representative will transfer the customer to our Dedicated Plan Change line, and your AOR status will remain unchanged.
  • When an existing customer initiates a plan change through one of Cigna’s internal field sales or telesales agents our team member will either refer the customer to our Dedicated Plan Change line or complete the plan change themselves. In either case, your AOR status will remain unchanged.

The plan change process

 

As an agent, you still have the option to fill out a new application to submit for current customers. However, we want you to know that you can feel confident in referring your current Cigna customers interested in changing to a different Cigna plan to our Plan Change Queue.

 

Your current Cigna customers can call 1-855-649-5105 to connect

to the dedicated Plan Change Queue.

 

The Agent of Record policy applies to:

 

  • Active, licensed, appointed and 2023 certified agents at the time of the customer’s plan change.

 

The Agency of Record policy does not apply when:

 

  • The original agent is no longer eligible or terminated.
  • Another active, licensed, appointed and 2023 certified, external agent (not employed by Cigna) facilitates the plan change.
  • The plan change is facilitated through an external Cigna appointed call center agent/agency.

 

Cigna News: New AMPLIFY Agent Dashboard To Track HRA Submissions

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Sourced from Cigna Broker Communication from 12/20/21:

As we continue to upgrade your experience when facilitating health risk assessments (HRAs) with your customers, today we’re making it easier to keep track of your submission history with our new dashboard.

When you log in to your Amplify account, you will see a dashboard. Select the phone book icon in the left navigation panel to add a new enrollee or view your HRA submission history. You can search and filter the list or export it into an Excel spreadsheet.

A one-page guide* is available on Producers’ University under Sale>Sales Aids. Scroll to the bottom and click on Value Based Enrollment-Amplify Agent Dashboard.

Still haven’t completed training to facilitate HRAs with your customers? Simply log in to Producers University and click My Learning to complete the training and to begin earning $75 for each HRA.

 

Questions? Reach out to your Cornerstone Senior Marketing representative 

Cigna’s HRA Update: Brokers Must Attend Training to be Eligible for HRA Payments

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Sourced from Cigna’s Broker Email Communication on 10/25/21:

Cigna Medicare Advantage will pay external agents $75 for each completed HRA they submit, starting with Jan. 1, 2022 effective dates. To be eligible, brokers must complete HRA training available on Producers’ University.

As announced a few weeks ago, external brokers will be able to earn $75 for each online health risk assessment (HRA) they complete for our Cigna Medicare Advantage (MA) customers with effective dates on or after January 1, 2022.*

To be eligible, brokers must be licensed, appointed, and certified to sell Cigna MA plans and complete the HRA training. As of today, less than 10 percent of brokers have taken the training. Cigna encourages all their agents to complete the training soon so they can receive payment for completing the HRAs.

The HRA survey tool is expected to be available in mid-November.

Broker Communication Timeline
We are still working through some of the operational aspects of this new initiative and will provide more details about the payment process and online HRA survey tool over the next few weeks. Here is the anticipated communication schedule:

10/26 Reminder to complete training

11/02 Payment details will be shared (i.e., timing, process)

11/09 Instructions for accessing the HRA survey tool, including the date it is available and that the link will be sent from the vendor

 

Questions? Contact your Cornerstone Senior Marketing Representative. 

Cigna’s Agent of Record Reminder

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Cigna Broker Communication from 10/15/21: 

 

We appreciate that you choose to be part of Team Cigna! There’s no question it takes a significant amount of work to build your business, and that’s something you should be proud of. In advance of AEP, we want to let you know that we are committed to protecting your Agent of Record status as well as the commissions you’ve earned for the customers you’ve enrolled.

 

At Cigna:

  • We understand that sometimes existing customers need to change plans.
  • We would prefer that they remain with Cigna.
  • We want to reduce the work associated with plan changes and free your time to focus on servicing and growing your book of business.

We want you to trust that we will protect your interests and that we value you and your current relationship with the customers you’ve enrolled.

 

Our commitment to you

When an internal Cigna agent completes a plan change for one of your existing Medicare Advantage customers, you will remain the Agent of Record (AOR) and continue to receive renewal commissions on plan changes.

How will we do this?

Cigna has established a Dedicated Plan Change unit within the CARL team that exists solely to help existing customers transition from one plan to another. This unit is staffed by licensed service representatives, not Sales Agents.

• When an existing customer makes a plan change by calling our Dedicated Plan Change line directly, your AOR status will remain unchanged.
• When an existing customer calls customer service inquiring about a plan change, the customer service representative will transfer the customer to our Dedicated Plan Change line and your AOR status will remain unchanged.
• When an existing customer initiates a plan change through one of Cigna’s internal field sales or telesales agents our team member will either refer the customer to our Dedicated Plan Change line or complete the plan change themselves. In either case, your AOR status will remain unchanged.

The Agent of Record policy applies to:

• Active, licensed, appointed and 2022 certified agents at the time of the customer’s plan change

The Agency of Record policy does not apply when:

• The original agent is no longer eligible or terminated
• Another active, licensed, appointed and 2022 certified, external agent (not employed by Cigna) facilitates the plan change
• The plan change is facilitated through an external Cigna appointed call center agent/agency

The plan change process

As an agent, you still have the option to fill out a new application to submit for current customers.

 Customers can call 1-855-649-5105 to connect to the dedicated Plan Change Queue.

 

 

 

 

 

Important Update: Cigna 2022 Kit Delays

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From Cigna broker announcement from 9/29:

Sales kits are delayed, but we have options!

The Annual Enrollment Period is one of the most critical times for our partnership as we strengthen and grow our businesses together.

 

At this time, it is important to notify you, that we are experiencing uncontrollable supply chain delays in the shipping of our 2022 Sales Kits. At this time, we cannot commit to delivery of the 2022 Sales Kits before October 1.

 

We have explored all viable options to continue to support the best AEP launch, despite this unforeseen challenge. While we work on getting the sales kits out to you as soon as possible, please be aware:

Virtual Tools are available

Our online enrollment tools, such as Connecture DRX, are available. A paper kit is not necessary to use this tool. You and your prospects can also access plan details at Cigna.com starting October 1.

 

Sales Kits are loaded onto the Resource Center in Cigna’s Producers’ University

At this time, you can log into Producers’ University and download the 2022 Sales Kit(s) that support the territories that you cover. Downloading the 2022 Sales Kits now, will ensure that you have access to your required materials, if you are without an internet connection when meeting with your customers.

  • We suggest that you print a few copies to have on hand.
  • Don’t forget to print enrollment forms, which can be found in the sales kits. This will allow you to still provide paper applications for your prospects and customers to complete enrollments until your kits arrive.

Your Broker Manager may have printed copies

Your Cigna Medicare Broker Manager may have some copies for you. They’ve been sending orders to local printers so that they can get you some copies to tide you over until your order arrives. Not familiar with your Broker Manager? Click here to access a reference guide.

 

A note about your Sales Kits

Regretfully, there is an error on page 27 of the printed Sales Kit for Maricopa County. Your kit will include stickers that should be used to cover the error. Your broker manager will also have these stickers available. Our online version does not have this error; it is correct in its current version.

We understand the additional burden this places on you, and apologize for the inconvenience this unforeseen challenge may have caused. We will continue to push our vendors and delivery partners to make the kits available as soon as possible for you. It is our priority and commitment to continue to do everything we can to support a successful AEP for you.

 

For any questions or concerns, reach out to your Cornerstone Senior Marketing Sales or Service Rep

Cigna’s Upgraded Their Broker Portal

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Cigna broker email announcement from 9/17/21:

Broker Portal Updates are Live – see how much easier it is to do business with Cigna!

 

What can I expect from the broker portal upgrade?

• New easy-to-use dashboard for Medicare Advantage brokers
• Includes left-hand navigation allowing brokers who sell multiple lines of business an easy way to navigate to the existing dashboards for other products with one click from the new MA dashboard
• Ability to update / edit profile information
• Access to broker tools via easy to read cards displayed on right on the dashboard.

Check it out today and see what the excitement is about!

You will notice we’ve upgraded our Broker Portal cignaforbrokers.com! We’ve introduced new functionality and have additional enhancements planned that will continue to make your experience more user friendly!

Once you login to the broker portal through CignaforBrokers.com, you’ll see the new dashboard that will serve as a one-stop-shop for the Cigna Medicare tools you use on a daily basis. Plus, for most of these tools we’ve included Single Sign On (SSO), eliminating the need to remember multiple usernames and passwords for access to the tools you needs to do your job. Some of the tools you’re likely already familiar with, others may be new to you:

 

  • Medicare/Medicaid Eligibility: new functionality allowing you to verify a potential customer’s eligibility information prior to enrollment right from the dashboard. For eligible customers, a quick call to CARL will provide you with their Medicaid level.
  • Salesforce: monitor sales and manage RFIs
  • Producers’ University: access to trainings, certifications and other valuable resources
  • Online Provider Directory (OLPD): our new and improved tool that allows you to search for providers based on your customer’s specific needs
  • Presentation Videos: see the latest Cigna videos to help your clients understand Medicare so that they can enroll with confidence
  • Medicare Plan Finder: find and compare Medicare health plans by linking directly to medicare.gov’s plan finder
  • ConnectureDRx: login required access to Cigna’s quote and enrollment tool for Medicare Advantage
  • e-Enrollment: login required access to Cigna’s face-to-face enrollment tool for capturing enrollment applications electronically
  • CustomPoint: login required access to order MA marketing materials, including sales kits and collateral
  • Navigation to other lines of business: If you are also licensed to sell CSB, IFP or Commercial business, you are able to navigate to those same home pages you use today direct from the MA broker portal. For example, the left navigation section allows a user to link to the CSB home page where they may access AgentView.
  • Profile: new profile feature allows you to update you contact information, password and security questions for access to the broker portal

For those tools where a login is still required, we’re working toward single-sign-on in a future release. In addition, we’re building out alerts and notification functionality allowing you to be notified of updates related to your license and appointment, upcoming sales events and training activity right from the dashboard via a bell icon at the top of the page.

For those tools where a login is still required, we’re working toward single-sign-on in an upcoming release, in advance of AEP.

We’re excited to simplify your experience and happy we were able to bring this to you in advance of AEP. Happy selling!

 

Cigna Extends Deadline for Certification Reimbursement

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Cigna MA Broker Announcement form 9/1/21:

NEW DEADLINE FOR CERTIFICATION REIMBURSMENT

Complete by Sept. 15 and meet sales goals for reimbursement

In July when we opened our certification for 2022 sales, we told you we’d reimburse your certification costs if you completed the certification by September 1 and met a couple of other prerequisites, like closing five sales by December 31 and remaining in good standing. Today, we are extending that deadline for certification with reimbursement until September 15!

If you need a reminder, you can review the email we sent our broker partners in early July that mentions this and directs to our Certification Roadmap to better explain. We’re just so excited about the Medicare Advantage plans we have for 2022 we want every broker partner to have the opportunity to offer them to their customers. Reset your clocks: you’ve got two more weeks to complete certification with Cigna!

 

If you have any follow up questions, or concerns please reach out to your Cornerstone Senior Marketing Service Rep.

Cigna Marketing Materials Now Available Via CustomPoint

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GET YOUR AEP MARKETING MATERIALS NOW!

New collaterals available in CustomPoint

Marketing materials for AEP 2022 are now available in CustomPoint! Choose from sales kits, comparison brochures, and brochure holders to boost your sales during AEP this year.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

• Materials are available to order now
• Orders start shipping on or after August 31 and are shipped on first in, first out basis
• Please do not duplicate orders that have a “back order” status
• You’ll receive status updates from CustomPoint via email; you can also log in to CustomPoint to track your shipment

Ordering marketing materials through CustomPoint is easy

• Licensed and appointed agents log into CustomPoint
• Hover over Catalogs; scroll down to Sales Materials (Kits, etc.), and click on 2022
• Select the material and the quantity needed, then add the item to your cart; repeat until the order is complete
• Go to your shopping cart and select check out
• Under Delivery Options, enter your name and shipping address and then select your billing address
• Under Order Details, ensure that your name, phone number and email address are correct, then select your carrier/service level
• Under Order Summary, review your order and then submit

You can view a listing of materials available by state and market here. Please remember you must be logged in to Producers’ University to access this guide.

Order soon to be sure you have everything you need ahead of AEP. And check CustomPoint regularly for customized collateral for 2022.

 

If you have any questions, please reach out to your Cornerstone Senior Marketing Service Rep.