Cigna credentialing follows the pattern most large payers use. A CAQH-driven application, then primary source verification, then a committee, then contracting. Where it differs is behavioral health. That sits with Evernorth, not with Cigna itself, and it is where most of the wasted time goes.
This guide covers both routes. For the work, see our medical credentialing services.
Medical credentialing
- Cigna pulls credentials from CAQH ProView. So the profile has to be complete, currently attested, and open for Cigna to read.
- Expect a network need assessment: Cigna may decline to open credentialing at all if it considers your specialty adequately covered in your area. That is a faster answer than waiting 90 days for the same conclusion.
- Product participation is elected separately. Commercial, Medicare Advantage and any exchange products are not automatically included in one another.
- Group practices need a type 2 NPI and a group agreement, with each clinician credentialed and linked.
| Stage | Typical time |
|---|---|
| Network need review | 1 to 3 weeks |
| Credentialing and primary source verification | 30 to 60 days |
| Committee review | Up to 30 days |
| Contracting and load | 2 to 6 weeks |
| End to end | 90 to 120 days |
Evernorth Behavioral Health
Therapists: you are not applying to Cigna
Cigna behavioral health credentialing is not done by Cigna. The network is administered by Evernorth Behavioral Health, a separate company within the same group. Applications for therapists, counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists and PMHNPs go to Evernorth, on Evernorth's forms, through Evernorth's portal.
An application sent to Cigna's medical credentialing team is not forwarded. This is the same structure UnitedHealthcare uses with Optum, and it produces the same months of silence.
- Independently licensed clinicians are credentialed individually; pre-licensed associates generally are not.
- Evernorth also draws on CAQH, so the same completeness and attestation rules apply.
- Panel status varies by county and license type, and closures are common in dense metros.
- Substance use treatment programs and higher levels of care have their own contracting track.
See insurance credentialing for therapists and mental health providers for the full carve-out map and how to argue a closed panel.
Cigna dental
Cigna's dental network is a separate application again, and DPPO and DHMO are typically separate elections within it. Dentists should read the leasing language before signing, see our dental credentialing services page for what to check in a dental PPO agreement.
What causes delays
- Sending a behavioral health application to Cigna instead of Evernorth
- Cigna or Evernorth not authorized to access the CAQH profile
- An attestation that lapsed during review: it is due every 120 days
- Assuming Medicare Advantage or exchange products are included in the commercial contract
- Work-history gaps over 30 days left unexplained
Related
- The work itselfMedical credentialing and provider enrollment services
- Therapists and prescribersInsurance credentialing for therapists
Free credentialing check
Tell us your license type and county and we will tell you whether Cigna or Evernorth owns your network, and whether the panel is open.
Free credentialing check Talk to a credentialing specialist