Cigna relies on participating providers to help ensure members have reasonable access to both emergency and non-emergency dental services by offering appointments within specific guidelines.
Here are Cigna Dental’s guidelines:
- For emergency treatment, providers are expected to see and treat members within 24 hours of notification of the member’s emergency.
- For non-emergency services — such as hygiene visits, new patient exams, recall exams, and restorative treatment — the expected wait time for an appointment is four weeks or less.
- Wait time requirements are met by offering any available appointment within the required timeframe. These appointments do not have to align with the member’s preferred dates or times. As long as an appointment is available and has been offered within the guidelines, the wait time standard is considered met.
- Additionally, there may be state-specific requirements, which are outlined separately below and must also be followed.
California: Urgent care appointments must be offered within 72 hours of the time of request. Rescheduled appointments must be scheduled within four weeks of the rescheduling date. Office wait room and operatory wait times must not exceed 20 minutes from the time of the patient’s arrival.
Connecticut: Routine care appointments should be offered within 10 days for general dentists and 15 days for specialists from the date of request. Urgent care appointments must be provided within 48 hours of the request time.
New Jersey: Appointments must be granted within 10 business/working days of the request.
North Carolina: Urgent care appointments must be offered within 72 hours of the request.
Texas: Routine appointments should be offered within three weeks of the date of request. For preventive care, appointments should be scheduled within two months for a child and within three months for an adult from the date of the request.
Vermont: Initial appointments should be offered within two weeks of the date of request. Preventive care appointments should be scheduled within 90 days of the request.
Virginia: Routine appointments should be provided within two weeks of the date of request. Urgent care appointments must be provided within 72 hours of the time of request.