Important update regarding Bon Secours Healthcare and Cigna Contract Negotiations

February 14, 2025

Dear Colleagues, 

We want to inform you of an important development regarding your healthcare coverage. Bon Secours Healthcare and Cigna are currently negotiating the renewal of their contract, which is set to expire on April 1, 2025. Unfortunately, these negotiations may impact your access to Bon Secours facilities and physicians in the future.

At the University of Richmond, we are closely monitoring these negotiations and are actively encouraging both parties to reach an agreement before the expiration date. Negotiations between healthcare providers and insurance companies are common, but they usually do not become public or result in providers leaving an insurance network. We will continue to voice our concerns and encourage an agreement to prevent any disruption for our employees.  

What You Need to Know:

  • Impact on Care: If Bon Secours and Cigna are unable to reach an agreement, Bon Secours may leave the Cigna network, potentially affecting your access to or the cost of their services as they would become an out-of-network provider.
  • Continuity of Care: If you or a dependent are receiving ongoing treatment with Bon Secours, you may qualify for Continuity of Care. This program allows eligible participants to continue using certain Bon Secours providers or facilities at in-network rates for a limited time after a contract ends.
  • Cigna Notifications: Cigna is contractually required to notify affected members 30 days before a contract expires. If a resolution is not reached by April 1, 2025, you will receive official communication directly from Cigna regarding any potential changes to your network options.

Next Steps:

We are actively working with Cigna and Bon Secours and will continue to monitor the situation.

We understand how important healthcare access is to you and your family, and we are committed to ensuring you have the most up-to-date information. As soon as we have more details, we will share them with you.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we work through this situation. We will keep you updated as we learn more and will share any important developments.

Sincerely,

Geraldine Sullivan                     
Chief Human Resources Officer 

Laura Dietrick
Director, Benefits & Employee Well-being