Dental Commission Errors To Cost CIGNA $871,245

Blumenthal sent CIGNA a subpoena in November after a review of the CIGNA dental plan uncovered possible billing problems, and Blumenthal says he is continuing to look at CIGNA’s activities.

But the $871,245 payment “is not a result of ongoing investigations about contingency commissions,” CIGNA says in a statement about the Connecticut repayment agreement. “There was no intentional misconduct on the part of CIGNA or any past or present CIGNA employees. CIGNA cooperated fully with the state by bringing this issue to light, by cooperating fully with the attorney general both before and after he issued a subpoena in November, and by moving quickly to correct the identified error.”

CIGNA says it had been asking to meet with Connecticut officials to review dental plan rate components since March 2004.

“When the attorney general and the comptroller expressed their concerns about these payments, CIGNA moved quickly to address the situation and offered reimbursement,” CIGNA says. “It is important to note that CIGNA’s relationship with the state is a result of a competitive bidding process and arms-length negotiations. The state’s dental business has gone out to bid periodically during the years and in each case, CIGNA has offered a competitive rate that made it the best value for state employees.”

Thomas Woodruff, director of the retirement and benefit services division at the Connecticut Office of the Comptroller, says Connecticut has information in its files that shows that CIGNA had agreed in 1990 not to charge commissions. Information obtained through a subpoena, including a cover letter to a broker, supports the argument that CIGNA and its underwriters knew about the commmissions being paid, Woodruff says.