CIGNA HealthCare Mid-Atlantic Among Top 50 Health Plans in the Nation, According to U.S. News & World Report and National Committee for Quality Assurance

CIGNA HealthCare Mid-Atlantic, which has been ranked as the top health plan in Maryland and Washington, D.C. for four straight years and as the top plan in Virginia for the second straight year, has broken into the “Top 50” in the nation in this year’s annual ranking of “America’s Best Health Insurance Plans 2009-10”1 conducted by U.S. News & World Report (U.S. News) and National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

The HMO and POS rankings are based on the voluntary submission of health care quality results as measured through HEDIS® (Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set); customer service scores based on member surveys through CAHPS® (Consumer Assessment of Health Providers and Systems); and scores on NCQA accreditation surveys.

"We are thrilled to be among the Top 50 health plans in America,” said Thomas Martel, regional vice president, CIGNA HealthCare east region and president of CIGNA HealthCare Mid-Atlantic. “We strongly believe in delivering innovative products and services through our high quality health plans as a means to help people improve their health, well-being and sense of security.”

CIGNA HealthCare Mid-Atlantic currently holds an “Excellent” accreditation rating from the NCQA for its HMO and Point of Service plans. In addition, CIGNA has also earned Full Accreditation from NCQA for its PPO2 and Open Access Plus2 plans nationwide. Full Accreditation is the highest rating possible under NCQA’s PPO Accreditation program. CIGNA plans have also earned NCQA Certification for Physician and Hospital Quality standards for the 22 HMO/Point of Service and 36 PPO and Open Access Plus markets across the country in which this information is currently provided. These standards assess how well a plan provides individuals with information about physicians and hospitals in its network to help them make informed health care decisions. And, most recently, CIGNA became one of the first companies – and the first national health plan – to earn the new NCQA quality rating for its health and wellness programs.

About CIGNA

CIGNA (NYSE:CI), a global health service company, is dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being and sense of security. CIGNA Corporation's operating subsidiaries provide an integrated suite of medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy and vision care benefits, as well as group life, accident and disability insurance, to approximately 46 million people throughout the United States and around the world. To learn more about CIGNA, visit www.cigna.com. To sign up for email alerts or an RSS feed of company news, log on to http://newsroom.cigna.com/section_display.cfm?section_id=18.

1 America’s Best Health Insurance Plans is a trademark of U.S. News & World Report.

2 These plans are offered through Connecticut General Life Insurance Company.