UPDATED: Trinity Health reaches multiyear agreement with Cigna

HBJ FILE PHOTO St. Francis Hospital is part of Trinity Health Of New England.

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Following months of negotiations, Trinity Health Of New England on Wednesday announced a multiyear agreement with Bloomfield-based health insurer Cigna.

Cigna’s contract with St. Francis Hospital, Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital and Trinity Health Of New England Medical Group providers in Connecticut expired Jan. 1. The new agreement, which takes effect March 1, applies to those facilities, as well as to St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury and Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford, which had agreements that did not expire until April 30.

The agreement with Cigna restores its commercial health plan coverage to all of Trinity Health’s facilities in Connecticut. Other details of the agreement were not released.

“While we never enter into negotiations with the desire for patient disruption, it was necessary for Trinity Health of New England to secure an agreement with Cigna that will more adequately cover the true cost of the care we deliver,” the organization said in an emailed statement.

“Cigna members will once again have in-network access to their previous Trinity Health of New England hospitals, doctors, and specialists beginning March 1,” the statement added.

Recently, hospitals’ negotiations with health insurers have gotten more contentious, as healthcare organizations face rising costs and health insurers face pressure to rein in premium increases.

In January, Trinity Health announced a multiyear agreement with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut, stating it secured “long-term access to affordable health care for Trinity Health patients covered by Anthem health plans.”

As part of that agreement, the organizations said they will collaborate on data connectivity and value-based care models. Those initiatives are meant to improve health outcomes and better control costs for Trinity patients covered by Anthem health plans.

Kaitlin Rocheleau, a spokeswoman for Trinity Health, said the new agreement with Cigna "does not yet include collaboration on data connectivity and value-based care models, but we intend to continue those discussions."

On its website, Trinity Health has posted a Q&A for Cigna policyholders who may have questions about their coverage. While it states that patients whose coverage was disrupted may once again schedule appointments with Trinity Health providers beginning on March 1, it suggests they contact Cigna “via the number on the back of your insurance card to ensure your care will be covered at in-network rates.”

It adds that patients who canceled appointments because of the disruption should contact the facility to reschedule.