Cigna reports network resolutions; LifePoint to return Feb. 15; retirees report positive experience with Humana 'Retiree First'

Rutherford County — At its January 2026 meeting the Benefits and Insurance Committee received updates from Paul Hoffman of Cigna Healthcare on network contract negotiations and from county staff about retiree support under Humana.

Paul Hoffman said Cigna maintained Tenet Health in network and resolved the Sumner Regional provider issue; he added that LifePoint, which previously had gone out of network, will return to the carrier's network "as of February 15," and that the change affects roughly 23 county members who had used that provider. Hoffman also said negotiations were underway with East Tennessee Children's Hospital and that the committee would be updated when talks conclude.

On retiree services, staff described the new Humana subcontractor "Retiree First" as providing a consistent contact for retirees. Miss Howell said retirees "like being able to talk to the same person," and staff said they had held an initial quarterly meeting with the vendor and would receive a quarterly report packet with statistics and case details going forward.

Mr. Elam also told the committee that RFPs for medical, dental, vision, pharmacy stop-loss, HSA and COBRA services have been advertised and that purchasing will open bids on March 10.

The committee did not take formal action on the network updates beyond receiving the report and asked staff to update the committee as negotiations progress.