For additional detals about all the optons, please see the "What's New  for 2003" brochure.

CIGNA HealthCare
Over the past five years, CIGNA HealthCare's coverage included acute care, prescription coverage, and behavioral health (through its subsidiary, MCC). Beginning January 2003, CIGNA's coverage will be limited to general medical care, with Walgreens Health Initiatives providing prescription coverage and United Behavioral Health picking up behavioral health coverage. But this certainly doesn't mean that CIGNA's standing still. CIGNA is dropping its "Prime Option Plus" premium point of service plan, but it's adding a full scale PPO plan (Maricopa County's first since 1997). 

As with HealthSelect, co-payments will also be changing: CIGNA's HMO co-pays will increase to $35 for Urgent Care visits  (was $20) and $75 for Emergency Room visits (was $50). PCP and Specialist visit co-pays will stay the same at $10. CIGNA POS co-pays will increase to $25 for Specialist visits (was $15), $50 for Urgent Care visits (was $20), and $100 for Emergency Room visits  (was $50). PCP visit co-pays will stay the same at $15.
 
 

Walgreens Health Initiatives
The addition of Walgreens Health Initiatives as administrator of Maricopa County's new self-insured prescription coverage for CIGNA members is the biggest change for 2003. What's not changing is the size of the pharmacy network. WHI's coverage is not limited to just Walgreens. Albertsons, Bashas, Fry’s, K-Mart, Osco, Safeway, Target, Wal-mart, and, of course, Walgreens are among the many pharmacies included in WHI's network.

What is changing is how the benefit is structured. Rather than using the familiar flat "co-payment" system, WHI's coverage will use a sliding scale "co-insurance" system. This system is designed to maintain consumer choice, while limiting premium increases caused by certain high cost drugs. 

Under this new system, members will pay 25% of the cost of prescriptions for generic drugs (with a minimum of $2 per script and a maximum of $10). For brand name drugs that are in WHI's formulary guide, members will pay 30% of cost (with a minimum of $5 per script and a maximum of $25). For brand name drugs that are not in WHI's formulary guide, members will pay 30% of cost (with a minimum of $20 per script and a maximum of $50). There will also be an annual out-of-pocket maximum of $1,500 for single coverage, and $3,000 for the employee and children, employee and spouse, and employee and family coverage tiers. (In other words, once the employee hits the annual maximum, they no long have to pay anything out of pocket.) For additional information, see the links to the right. 
 

United Behavioral Health
Behavioral health coverage is also being "carved out" of the acute health care coverage. For 2003, behavioral health coverage for CIGNA members will be provided by United Behavioral Health. However, most other plan details will remain similar to those under the previous provider MCC.