CIGNA Life & Health Timely Filing Limit

The most important thing to confirm with CIGNA Life & Health is not just the number of days, but also what event starts the clock. Some payer documents measure from date of service, some from discharge, and some publish different rules for corrected claims or appeals.

At a glance

• Official Cigna provider guidance located here shows at least one clear timely-filing standard for behavioral health: 180 days from date of service for individual professionals and 180 days from facility discharge for facilities, with an exception when filing within 180 days was not reasonably possible and the claim is submitted as soon as reasonably possible. For broader Cigna medical/commercial claims, the official pages reviewed did not provide one universal timely-filing limit; some claim instructions defer to the member ID card or contract/plan terms.

Initial claim filing limits

• Behavioral health: individual professionals within 180 days from the date services were rendered.
• Behavioral health: facilities within 180 days from the participant’s discharge from the facility.

Corrected claim filing limits

• No universal corrected-claim limit located in the official sources reviewed.
• Use plan/contract-specific guidance if available.

Appeal and reconsideration deadlines

• Provider payment review/appeal: 180 calendar days from initial payment or denial notice, or from last payment adjustment if the appeal relates to an adjusted payment.
• Medicare customer/provider appeals: 90 calendar days from initial payment or denial notice, or from last payment adjustment if adjusted payment.
• Medicare Advantage HMO level 2: within 60 calendar days of the level 1 decision letter.

Trigger basis and caveats

• Behavioral health filing basis is date of service for professionals and discharge date for facilities.
• Appeal timing is based on the payment denial/decision or last payment adjustment, not claim submission date.
• Timely-filing rules vary by line of business and by contract.
• State law and provider agreements can override Cigna administrative guidance.
• The general medical/commercial timely-filing rule was not clearly stated on the primary pages reviewed.

Provider resources

• Cigna for Health Care Professionals portal (official)
• Submit and Pay Claims for Providers (official)
• Appeals and Disputes (official)
• Cigna contact numbers / claims mailing address (official)
• Evernorth Behavioral Administrative Guidelines (official)

Sources