CIGNA earns top honor in Disability Case Management Program category

CIGNA earned the top honor in the Disability Case Management Program category at the First Annual Case in Point Platinum Awards, created by publisher Dorland Health. CIGNA's entry featured Disability HealthCare Connect®, the company's integrated medical and disability program.

“We are pleased to be recognized for our case management program excellence.”

"CIGNA's nurse case managers work directly with our customers to help them improve their health and assist in their return to work efforts," said Beth Chiappetta, vice president, expert resources for CIGNA, who accepted the award. "We are pleased to be recognized for our case management program excellence."

As described in the award submission, CIGNA believes coordinating disability and medical case management can help improve and maintain employee health, prevent and reduce costly medical and work absences, and helps employees return to work quickly and safely. In fact, according to a 2007 CIGNA study, individuals covered by CIGNA's integrated medical and disability programs who have taken a short-term disability leave are more likely to return to work. The study showed marked improvement in return-to-work rates for CIGNA customers on disability of at least five percent and up to 37 percent, compared to others in non-integrated, disability-only plans.

CIGNA's award submission also demonstrated the direct customer impact of integrating disability and healthcare benefits through the story of customer Mark Evans, who was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident. Through his employer-provided CIGNA disability insurance and the innovative case management services it offered, he was able to resume many activities of daily living and secure a work-at-home arrangement. Mark's story can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/cignatv.

The complete list of winners and finalists are featured in the April/May issue of Case in Point magazine and can also be found online at the Dorland Health web site.

Platinum Award entries were judged by a panel of experts from the clinical and business sectors of health care. Also serving as judges were the staff of Case in Point magazine and Case in Point Weekly. Entries were evaluated based on the proven track record and success of their programs.