Access to care at home or when traveling is one of the top priorities for our employer groups and members. To continue improving our members’ experience accessing and paying for high-quality care while traveling outside of our service areas, we are working with Cigna to make their provider network available to Kaiser Permanente members.
This announcement is evidence of Kaiser Permanente’s ongoing commitment to serving employer groups and members, regardless of physical location. Coupled with our recently launched Get Care Now, 24/7 access to care by phone and video, Kaiser Permanente members have increasingly robust ways to get care when and how they need it — virtually and in person.
What You Should Know
- This new agreement with Cigna improves convenience and access to members traveling out of areas where Kaiser Permanente provides care.
- As part of an improved experience, members can access an extensive provider directory to find care convenient to them while away from home.
- Beginning in August, many of our commercial HMO and Access PPO members who need urgent or emergency care while traveling will have access to Cigna’s national network of providers as another option to choose from. It will not be required, and they may also use other services, including Get Care Now, CVS/MinuteClinics, or community providers in their location, to get the urgent or emergency care they need.
- Prescriptions resulting from these care visits filled at community pharmacies will still require payment and reimbursement, as they do now.
- Cigna network access does not apply to Kaiser Permanente Medicare members.
Note: A separate part of the broader agreement is in the area of specialty medications. Accredo, Cigna’s specialty pharmacy, will become Kaiser Permanente’s preferred external pharmacy for limited distribution drugs for our commercial members. More information will be made available soon.
Updates on this new access to Cigna’s provider network for urgent or emergency care will be provided in the coming months, before it launches in August.