UK HealthCare to end relationship with Cigna effective May 1
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 21, 2025) – After extensive efforts to negotiate a new agreement, UK HealthCare announced that its contract with insurance company Cigna Healthcare will end on May 1, 2025. This change means that, as of that date, UK HealthCare facilities and providers will no longer be part of Cigna’s medical insurance network.
Despite numerous proposals over the past several months to establish a fair and sustainable fee schedule, UK HealthCare and Cigna have been unable to reach mutually agreeable terms. As a result, and following Cigna's expressed desire to conclude negotiations, UK HealthCare will no longer be an in-network provider for Cigna members after April 30.
About 4,500 patients at UK HealthCare are anticipated to be impacted by the change. UK HealthCare remains committed to ensuring these patients receive uninterrupted, high-quality care during this transition. Cigna patients will continue to have in-network access to UK HealthCare services through April 30.
Affected patients are encouraged to contact Cigna for guidance on care options and to stay informed about how this change may impact their health care services. UK HealthCare is also seeking further information from Cigna to assist patients requiring continuity of care for ongoing treatment after the contract ends. After April 30, access to UK HealthCare’s emergency departments will still be available to patients for covered emergency services, regardless of network status. Learn more about what emergency services are covered under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.
For additional information, patients can visit UK HealthCare’s FAQ page or contact Cigna by calling the number on the back of their insurance card. A list of insurance providers accepted at UK HealthCare is available here.
In the 2023-24 fiscal year, UK HealthCare hospitals managed more than 45,000 patient discharges, more than 38,000 surgeries, over 123,000 emergency department visits and more than 1.4 million hospital-based outpatient clinic visits.
UK HealthCare is the hospitals and clinics of the University of Kentucky. But it is so much more. It is more than 10,000 dedicated health care professionals committed to providing advanced subspecialty care for the most critically injured and ill patients from the Commonwealth and beyond. It also is the home of the state’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that cares for the tiniest and sickest newborns, the region’s only Level 1 trauma center and Kentucky’s top hospital ranked by U.S. News & World Report.
As an academic research institution, we are continuously pursuing the next generation of cures, treatments, protocols and policies. Our discoveries have the potential to change what’s medically possible within our lifetimes. Our educators and thought leaders are transforming the health care landscape as our six health professions colleges teach the next generation of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals, spreading the highest standards of care. UK HealthCare is the power of advanced medicine committed to creating a healthier Kentucky, now and for generations to come.