East Tennessee Children’s Hospital has reached an agreement to continue its relationship with Cigna, the hospital announced Friday. It means families using the insurance provider won’t see any interruption in coverage.

Cigna and ETCH went head-to-head at the beginning of the year, with the insurance company threatening to pull coverage on March 1, citing too high a cost supporting the specialized hospital.

In a statement, Cigna Healthcare said “We’re pleased that East Tennessee Children’s Hospital will remain in our network, and we remain committed to the health and well-being of the families we jointly serve.”

Source: WVLT

East Tennessee Children’s Hospital told WBIR/10News that, after they published a story about the possibility of losing coverage, Cigna sent a “comprehensive proposal.”

No further updates are available yet.

Source: WBIR

East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and Cigna are at odds over a network contract that expires on February 28, 2026.

Cigna said, in an emailed statement, that it was the children’s hospital that threatened to leave the provider’s network, but a hospital representative said it was the other way around, and Cigna had decided to boot the hospital from its coverage.

The families of ETCH patients found out about the Cigna issue on December 30 in a letter from the hospital. Both the hospital and insurance provider said they hope to work out a deal that keeps patients covered.

Source: WVLT