A major change that affects many procedures is the change from Fiserv Health-Harrington to CIGNA Healthcare, as the claims payor for our medical plans and flexible spending accounts (FSA), effective January 1, 2008.

This web page will provide updates regarding the change to CIGNA and how this affects procedures.

If you have questions about changes for 2008, please contact the PISD benefits office at x28138 or benefits@pisd.edu. In addition, CIGNA's customer service staff is ready to assist you at 1-800-244-6224.

New PPO Network
Prior Authorization for Services
MyCIGNA.com
Medical ID Cards
Dental ID Cards

New PPO Network

CIGNA provides employees a larger network with better price discounts. Discuss this change with your doctors, to see if they are part of the CIGNA Open Access Plus network. You can also search for yourself on CIGNA's web site:

Under Locate Resources For Members, click on "Provider Directory"
What Type of Provider - select Physician, Hospital, or Facility/Ancillary
Provider's Name - leave blank to find all, or enter the last name only

Tip: Enter only the first two or three letters of the last name, or no name, to get the broadest search. This will help you in case there are any spelling errors.

Where to Look - enter City, State, and Zip - leave address blank
Click Next
What Type of Plan You Have - select Open Access Plus ONLY
What Are You Looking For - select the type of provider such as Internal Medicine, Pediatrician, OB/GYN, etc. - or leave as All
Click Search

If your doctor is not currently part of the CIGNA Open Access Plus network, but would like to receive information about joining, please have him or her complete this nomination form , and return it directly to CIGNA to begin the process.

Prior Authorization for Services

In 2008, you are required to contact CIGNA for prior authorization of certain services. The phone number is provided on your CIGNA ID card.

Call CIGNA before you receive the following services:

In-patient hospital admission (including maternity)
In-patient treatment at a skilled nursing facility or rehab hospital
Non-emergency ambulance
Transplant services

Call CIGNA within 72 hours for:

Emergency admission to the hospital

If your stay in the hospital is extended, the hospital staff must contact CIGNA to make sure that the extra days are also authorized.

MyCIGNA.com

You can use the MyCIGNA.com web site to review your coverage and look up claims. In addition, MyCIGNA.com provides a hospital comparison tool and information on various health topics.

MyCIGNA.com also gives you access to CIGNA Healthy Rewards. This program provides discounts to health resources not normally covered by health plans, such as weight loss programs, fitness club memberships, smoking cessation programs, and alternative medicine providers.

Medical ID Cards

Please make sure your address is correct in the PISD Human Resources database, because CIGNA will mail your medical ID card to your home address, rather than through school mail. If your address is not correct, you will not receive your ID card. To update your address, please follow the instructions from Human Resources (this link goes to employee intranet site).

Every person will receive a personalized ID card, including your name and a unique ID number. This number is created by CIGNA and is not the same as your PISD employee ID number.

CIGNA can only mail 2 cards per envelope, so if you are covering more than 2 family members, you will receive multiple envelopes.

Dental ID Cards

You will not receive new dental ID cards in 2008. If you currently have a CIGNA dental card, you may use the same card next year. If you do not have a CIGNA dental card, you may print a card from MyCIGNA.com at any time. When using a CIGNA dentist, you may not need to show a card at all, and that dentist will file your claims directly with CIGNA.