Cigna Healthcare — Local services in Houston

I called the Signa Healthspring customer service to ask about an Opthalmologist to do cataract surgery on me. She gave me the name of Dr. Timothy Doucet, who is in my program. She said that I would need Dr. Hallbauer, my doctor's recommendation to have the surgery. I got my doctor's permission & went to Dr. Doucet for my exam. He told me that i did need cataract surgery, but that I had a questionable problem with my retinas, so he wanted me to go to Dr. Abdelghani to check it out before he performed the cataract surgery. I made sure that Dr. Abdelghani was a Signa Healthcare provider, and went to have him check my retinas. he verified that I had scar tissue on both retinas, but wanted me to have the cataract surgery first. The day after I saw Dr. Abdelghani, I got a call from Dr. Hallbauer's office, tellilmg me that Dr. Doucet 7 Dr. Abdelghani were not in the program. I called customer service & confirmed that both doctors WERE in the program. i was told that i could not have the cataract surgery done by Dr. Doucet because he was not in the program. I think someone at Signa Healthcare is not doing right by me. i am scheduled for cataract surgery with Dr. Doucet & I need help in solving this problem. Customer service doesn't seem to care. i don't know who to turn...

Another frustrating encounter with Cigna HealthSpring. I obtained authorization to go outside my IPA because the only ophthalmology practice in my IPA cannot serve me. It was approved July 3 for the doctor visit July 18. By July 14, neither I nor the provider received the authorization. I called. As usual, the first tier person knows nothing and will call me back. I know they don’t call back, so I will call them back. I asked to make a grievance about the notification not being received, but the process takes 30 days, and my visit is in 3 days. I asked for an expedited grievance. This doesn’t qualify even though a resolution won’t happen until after my appointment. So I want to make a grievance about that. The conversation was not ugly, but frustrating. After every call, you are given the opportunity to take a survey. When she transferred me to the survey, I was hit with “Congratulations! You have been selected to receive a free Caribbean cruise!” I listened to the pitch but when I didn’t respond, it hung up and I never got to the survey. I called back to make a grievance about that. After the call, I was put on hold and never got to the survey. Again. I believe the reps prevent unhappy customers from taking the survey. This is just one illustration of how they...

Absolutely horrible healthcare insurance. Incompetence is standard. I have been unable to get care from specialists because this company cannot assign me the PCP I have been requesting since January. I have called 50+ times about the same issue. Every time they claim to have fixed the issue. I wrote 2 letters to their grievance department. The response was to send me form letters which claimed to have solved my issue (they didn't). The letters didn't even bother to address the specific issues I raised. Because of their unbelievable incompetence, I have been unable to get care from specialists I desperately have been needing to see for months. As a person with metastatic breast cancer, this situation is not only terrible it is literally threatening my life and well being. They should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for their egregious denial of medical treatment to...