CIGNA New Disability and Leave Plan Administrator
Effective Feb. 1, 2013, the administration of Banner Health’s Short- and Long-Term Disability (STD and LTD), Family Medical Leave (FML), and Medical or Personal Leaves of Absence will transition from Banner’s ABSENT8 program to CIGNA. This is a change in administration only, and does not change the disability plan coverage.
Banner’s decision to change our plan administrator was previously announced during Annual Enrollment for 2013 benefits, and will provide numerous advantages to both Banner and employees on leave, including:
- CIGNA’s strong expertise and experience in leave and disability plan administration gives us access to better technology and greater support.
- Centralizing under a single vendor will improve coordination, provide smoother transitions and enhance customer service for employees using these benefits.
- CIGNA has provided our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and behavioral health benefits under Banner’s medical plans for several years. Their expertise in behavioral health and their focus on treating the whole person allows us to increase our focus on health management as a key health care component.
- CIGNA’s enhanced information technology solutions provide employees on leaves of absence with convenient access to online claim updates. The technology also provides enhanced support to our leaders by allowing more direct and timely access to status of claims for affected employees.
Individuals on leaves prior to the Feb. 1 transition date are being contacted to provide details on how their leaves will be administered and who to contact for assistance.
For leaves beginning Feb. 1 or later, you should contact CIGNA directly at or (888) 842-4462 (or (888) 84CIGNA , English), or (866) 562-8421 (Spanish), between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Central Standard Time.
You can find more information about our disability plans on the Health & Well-being tab of this website.
