KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Cigna and East Tennessee Children’s Hospital are at odds, and the insurance provider plans to remove the hospital from its network by March 1. Thousands of patients could risk losing network coverage if a deal is not reached.
Cigna told WVLT News in an emailed statement that it was Children’s Hospital that threatened to leave the provider’s network, but a hospital representative said it was the other way around and Cigna decided to drop the hospital from its coverage.
“We are disheartened by Cigna’s media response,” the hospital representative said. “This is simply not factual. On May 27, 2025, Cigna initiated a notice of termination for an indefinite agreement affecting our hospital and affiliated providers.”
Cigna’s statement indicates that ETCH treatment costs more than that of neighboring hospitals, which prompted the decision to end their agreement.
“Unfortunately, ETCH is already significantly more expensive than other local hospitals, and they are threatening to leave our network on March 1 unless we agree to their demands for more,” Cigna’s statement said.
ETCH is East Tennessee’s only children’s hospital. Most of the services offered are specialized and families may have difficulty finding similar care elsewhere in the region. The hospital representative who spoke with WVLT said ETCH’s costs are comparable to similar children’s hospitals across the country.
“Cigna is an apples-to-oranges comparison, as we are the only children’s hospital in the area,” the ETCH statement said. “Our spending is in line with or lower than every other independent children’s hospital like ours in the country.”
The ETCH representative said about 27,000 patients in East Tennessee use Cigna. If the hospital and insurer cannot reach an agreement by March 1, they risk losing network coverage. This would mark the end of a 30-year partnership and the termination of an agreement that ETCH said had been in place for 18 years.
Families of ETCH patients found out about Cigna’s problem Dec. 30 in a letter from the hospital. This means some patients will only have about two months to find specialized care.
That said, the hospital and insurer said they hope to reach an agreement that will allow patients to remain covered.
“We remain committed to negotiating in good faith to reach a fair and lasting agreement before the contract ends on March 1, and we hope that ETCH will do what is right for this community,” Cigna said. This echoed ETCH’s own response.
“We have made repeated good faith efforts and will continue to advocate on behalf of our patients and families,” the ETCH spokesperson said.
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