CIGNA members gain in-network access to Mayo Clinic, a first

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mayo Clinic and CIGNA HealthCare announced that they have signed a four-year agreement to provide CIGNA HealthCare members and their covered dependents in-network access to the Mayo Clinic and St. Luke's Hospital, both in Jacksonville, Fla. The joint contract, effective Jan. 1, 2006, marks a first-time agreement with Mayo Clinic and CIGNA HealthCare, but also renews the company's contractual relationship with St. Luke's Hospital. "The core value of Mayo Clinic is 'the needs of the patient come first,'" says Dr. George Bartley, Chief Executive Officer of Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. "We are pleased that our services will now be available to more patients in this region."

Under the agreement, CIGNA HealthCare preferred provider organization (PPO) members may visit the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville and/or St. Luke's Hospital for covered health care services and have those expenses considered at the maximum available (in-network) benefit. CIGNA HealthCare health maintenance organization (HMO) members or managed care members may come to the Mayo Clinic Jacksonville by meeting the authorizations and/or referral requirements of their plan.

"We are excited to begin a relationship with Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville so that CIGNA members, particularly those living in the Southeastern United States, may access Mayo's team approach to diagnosis and treatment, single electronic medical record system, and specialized sub-specialty care," said Andrew Crooks, president and general manager, CIGNA HealthCare of Florida. "And, we are as equally as excited to continue our contractual relationship with St. Luke's Hospital where our members are often seen by Mayo specialists."

CIGNA HealthCare of Florida offers a wide range of innovative solutions to employers to manage health care costs and outcomes, including its HMO and PPO products, CIGNATURE suite of products, ChoiceFund HSA and other leading consumer directed health care products. With nearly 900,000 members, CIGNA HealthCare of Florida, Inc. received an "Excellent" Accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) in 2004 for the plan's HMO and POS products.

For more information, contact:

Christine Leon, Mayo Clinic
(904) 953-2299
leon.christine@mayo.edu

Karen Godlewski, CIGNA HealthCare
(215) 761-1470
karen.godlewski@cigna.com

— 30 —

Mayo Clinic is the world's first and largest integrated group practice. The Mayo Clinic Cancer Center is the only multi-site NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center. The Jacksonville, Fla., campus, which opened in 1986, has more than 320 physicians, surgeons and scientists who specialize in more than 40 areas. Patients who need hospitalization are admitted to St. Luke's Hospital. However, construction is underway for a 214-bed hospital on the Mayo Clinic campus. Visit www.mayoclinic.org/news for more news about Mayo Clinic.

###

To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to www.mayoclinic.org/news. MayoClinic.com is available as a resource for your health stories.