California law requires health plans to provide Language Assistance program (LAP) services to eligible customers with Limited English proficiency (LEP).
To support this requirement, we developed the California Language Assistance Program, which provides language assistance services for eligible Cigna Healthcare® plan participants, including those covered by Cigna Dental Care® (DHMO) or Cigna Dental PPO plans.
LAP-eligible customers are entitled to the following free services:
- Interpreter services at each point of contact, such as a provider’s office or when calling Cigna Healthcare.
- Spanish or Traditional Chinese translation od documents is considered vital according to California law.
- Notification of LAP rights.
Provider responsibilities
Activities that in-network providers are responsible for include, but are not limited to:
- Inclusion of LAP notification in English vital documents sent to individuals who reside in California.
- Offering phone interpreter services to support LEP patients with Cigna Healthcare plan coverage. For free telephonic interpreter services, call the language interpretation line at 800.806.2059.If the patient refuses to use a trained interpreter, it must be documented in their medical record.
- Supplying the following grievance form and brochure to customers who communicate dissatisfaction with the services or care received, a utilization management decision, or a claim denial.
- California Medical Grievance Brochure: English | Spanish | Traditional Chinese
- California Grievance Form: English | Spanish | Traditional Chinese
For additional information
Use the resources available below:
- Review the California Language Assistance Program page
- Download the provider training presentation about LAP regulations and how to access language services for your patients with Cigna coverage.
- If you are an in-network Cigna Healthcare provider and need additional information on state-specific laws for interpreter services, refer to your Cigna Healthcare Dental Office Reference Guide by logging in to the Cigna for Health Care Professionals portal (CignaforHCP.com) or by going to CignaforHCP.com > Resources >Dental Resources > Doing Business with Cigna > California Language Assistance Program.
Racial and linguistic diversity at a glance
We collect language preference, race, and ethnicity data for California-eligible customers.
Language
We use California demographic data as a proxy for our customer base until we have a statistically valid number of customer language preference records. The data listed below are currently available for the most non-English-speaking languages among individuals over age five in California.*
| 46% | Speaks a language other than English* |
| 29% | Spanish speaking |
| 3% | Speaks Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) |
Racial and ethnic composition
The data below is an indirect estimation of our California customers. The figures were derived using a methodology that combines census geocoding and surname recognition.
| 50.2% | Caucasian |
| 23.8% | Hispanic |
| 23.6% | Asian |
| 2.1% | African American |
* 2022 5-Year American Community Survey. U.S. Census Bureau. December 2022 Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=California&t=Language%20Spoken%20at%20Home&hidePreview=false&tid=ACSST1Y2019.S1601&vintage=2018.