Cigna credentialing: how to join the Cigna Healthcare network

Medical, behavioral health or dental: which route is yours

Cigna Behavioral Health became Evernorth Behavioral Health in 2021, so behavioral health contracts are with Evernorth, not Cigna Healthcare. One exception: if you provide behavioral health care inside a participating Cigna medical practice and don't take direct referrals from the community, you join under the practice's medical contract by calling 1-800-882-4462. In Minnesota, North Dakota and western Wisconsin, Evernorth works through HealthPartners. Therapists weighing their own contracts against a platform should read our credentialing guide for therapists.

Cigna is usually one of several insurers a practice joins, alongside Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and your state's Blue Cross Blue Shield plan. Our guide on how to get credentialed with insurance companies covers the full order.

What Cigna asks for

• Valid, unrestricted state license
• DEA certificate for each state you practice in, and CDS where required
• Admitting privileges at a Cigna-participating hospital, or a coverage agreement
• Board certification status, education and training
• Five years of work history, with gaps over six months explained
• Malpractice coverage and claims history
• CAQH profile marked Initial Profile Complete or Re-attestation
• Cigna authorized to view your CAQH profile

Two items catch people out. If you don't admit patients to a Cigna-participating hospital, Cigna asks for a Hospital Coverage Agreement form naming who admits on your behalf. If you don't have a DEA or CDS certificate, it asks you to fill in its DEA certificate form instead. Both go by fax to 1-877-391-8228. For malpractice, Cigna recommends at least $1 million per occurrence and $3 million in the aggregate. Our CAQH guide covers getting the profile complete and attested.

Joining Cigna Healthcare, step by step

Step 1: The pre-application call

Cigna asks medical providers to call 1-800-88CIGNA (882-4462) and choose the credentialing option before applying. The representative checks that you meet its basic guidelines, and in most cases tells you on the call whether you can apply.

Step 2: Complete the application packet

If you qualify, Cigna emails you an application packet. You can apply in one of three ways: let Cigna pull your data from CAQH, use One Healthport (Medversant) if your profile there was attested within 100 days, or send a state application if your state requires one. With CAQH, authorize Cigna, review the profile for anything out of date, and make sure its status is Initial Profile Complete or Re-attestation.

Step 3: Watch your email

Cigna works by email from here. It confirms it received your application, asks for anything missing, and tells you about delays. Answer requests for missing documents quickly: Cigna says that if it doesn't receive them, it closes the application, and you start again.

Step 4: Committee review and approval

Once your information is verified, a credentialing committee of community physicians and the health plan's medical director reviews it. If you're approved, Cigna emails you with your effective date, and it usually loads you into its directories and claim systems within 10 business days. Check your directory listing once it appears.

To check your status, email PSSCentral@Cigna.com with your full name and Tax ID, or call 1-800-882-4462 and choose credentialing.

How long Cigna credentialing takes

Cigna says medical credentialing typically takes 45 to 60 days from when it receives your packet, and it emails you if your file runs past that. Evernorth says joining its behavioral health network can take up to 90 calendar days, and it sometimes grants provisional credentialing so a provider can start seeing patients sooner, decided case by case. Files slow down when CAQH isn't attested or authorized, when hospital privileges or DEA details are missing, or when you miss a request for documents.

In Texas, Cigna accepts applications in many markets only during an annual open enrollment window, which ran February 1 to 28 in 2026, and it responds within 90 days.

Commercial plans and Medicare Advantage

Cigna Healthcare's provider network centers on its employer and individual plans. Cigna sold its Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D and CareAllies businesses to Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) in March 2025, so Medicare Advantage plans that used to be Cigna's now contract through HCSC. Traditional Medicare is separate from both, and you join it through PECOS.

After you're in: recredentialing

Cigna recredentials providers every three years in most states, against the same criteria as your first application. When it's due, Cigna emails you to verify and re-sign your CAQH information, with up to three reminders. If you don't, Cigna says it ends your participation in the network. Keep CAQH attested every 120 days and you'll only need to confirm it. Our recredentialing guide covers every insurer's cycle, plus Medicare and Medicaid.

Common mistakes

• Skipping the pre-application call and waiting for a packet that never comes.
• Applying to Cigna for behavioral health instead of Evernorth, or the reverse.
• No hospital privileges or coverage agreement on file.
• Missing a document request email, so Cigna closes the application.
• Ignoring the recredentialing emails, which can end your participation.

Common questions