"The Big Picture" Newsletter

July/August 2009 Issue

GEORGIA EDITION

CIGNA Introduces Individual Plans in Georgia

CIGNA HealthCare has introduced new plans for Individuals in Georgia with June 1, 2009 effective dates. The plans offer many of the benefits that have traditionally only been available to larger employers such as access to a 24-hour health information line and tools to help people understand their own personal health risks and take action to prevent a serious health event.

Individuals and their families will have access to a network of more than 500,000 quality health professionals and facilities throughout the country. In Georgia, this includes more than 22,000 doctors and more than 170 hospitals.

In Georgia, there are three Health Savings plans and four Open Access plans available for individuals and families. The Health Savings Plans are high-deductible health plans used in combination with a tax-advantaged Health Savings Account (HSA) to pay for certain medical expenses (now or in the future) that may not be covered by the health plan. The new plans include a broad range of benefit levels which enables you, the broker, to find the plan that is right for your customer.

For more information, contact Nancy Melton at nancy.melton@cigna.com.

LOCAL SPOTLIGHT

Where We Are

CIGNA HealthCare
Two Securities Centre
3500 Piedmont Road, Suite 200
Atlanta, GA  30305
Telephone:  404.443.8800
Fax:  404.443.8932

Who to Contact

Tim Vessel
Vice President of Sales
404.443.8913
Tim.Vessel@cigna.com

Experienced Local Leadership

Andrew Crooks, Regional General Manger
Andrew Crooks has over 20 years of experience in the health care industry. His early career was spent in various underwriting and financial management roles throughout the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Following a series of promotions, he was appointed Vice President and Executive Director of Prudential HealthCare’s North Florida and Central Florida operations. His responsibilities included development and growth of exclusive, affiliated medical groups, network development, management of claim and customer service operations, regulatory compliance, sales and marketing. He held this position for over 10 years earning the first Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) accreditation given by Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) in 1988, and recognition by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top 20 HMO’s in the nation in 1996.

Subsequent to the Aetna U.S. Healthcare acquisition of Prudential HealthCare, Andrew was retained to lead all integration management activities for the Southeast operations. For the past five years, Andrew has served as President and General Manager of CIGNA's Florida and Caribbean operations providing services to over one million covered lives.

Rich Novack, President and General Manager, Georgia/Alabama
Rich brings more than 20 years of health care industry experience, during which he has held numerous leadership roles, most notably as General Manager of Special Accounts/Public Entities at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, and President of Greater Georgia Life. In this capacity, Rich had total responsibility for the results of the business operations which had revenues of over $1.3 billion serving over 1.8 million members; these operations included Claims, Customer Service, Billing, Underwriting, Sales, and Account Management. Prior to that position, Rich served as Vice President for Underwriting and Marketing - also with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia - where he was responsible for meeting pre-defined revenue, growth and persistency goals; as well as being accountable for Advertising and Promotion, Product Management, Market Research and Sales Training.

Tim Vessel, Senior Vice President of Sales – Atlanta, Georgia
Tim Vessel joined CIGNA HealthCare in August 1993. He is responsible for seven direct reports. Tim has eleven years with CIGNA HealthCare, beginning in Underwriting and transitioning into sales in 1996 as a Senior Client Manager in the Atlanta Sales Office.

Tim has worked as regional sales manager consultant for the Southeast region and his last position was the Director of Sales Operation for the Atlanta office. Tim has extensive experience in underwriting, training and reporting analysis. Tim received his BA in Economics.