Does Cigna cover mental health treatment? Yes, most Cigna Healthcare plans cover mental health care, including therapy, psychiatric visits and more structured programs like partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient treatment. Your costs and any approval steps depend on your specific plan. The Ranch Pennsylvania Outpatient Services accepts many Cigna plans and can check your benefits for you.
This guide covers what Cigna’s mental health benefits usually include, who manages them, how the levels of care work and how to check your coverage for conditions like depression, anxiety, PTSD and bipolar disorder.
Who Manages Cigna Mental Health Benefits?
Cigna Healthcare is part of The Cigna Group. For employer plans, Cigna explains that behavioral health benefits are administered by Evernorth Behavioral Health, a company in the same family. You’ll usually see Cigna on your ID card, but Evernorth may handle mental health reviews, care management and its provider network.
Cigna says its mental health benefits give members access to a behavioral health network of licensed providers, consultations and referrals, outpatient services, psychiatrists, therapists and inpatient facilities, plus follow-up case management.
So, does Cigna cover mental health treatment at an outpatient program? In many cases, yes. Programs like PHP and IOP sit between weekly therapy and a hospital stay. They give you several hours of care on treatment days, then let you go home or to supportive housing at night. If weekly therapy no longer feels like enough, read about the signs you may need more than weekly therapy.
Does Cigna Cover Mental Health Treatment? What Plans Include
Cigna’s guide to mental health care lays out the main types of care a plan may cover:
Outpatient care
- Individual therapy: one-on-one sessions with a therapist, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).
- Medication evaluation and management: visits with a psychiatrist or nurse practitioner.
- Group therapy: regular sessions with others working on similar challenges.
More structured programs
- Intensive outpatient programs (IOP): Cigna describes these as care three to five days a week. Our mental health IOP meets three days a week for three-hour group sessions, so you can live at home and keep up with daily life.
- Partial hospitalization programs (PHP): about six hours a day, five to seven days a week. Our mental health PHP provides full-day programming five days a week.
Inpatient care
Inpatient acute care takes place in a hospital with 24-hour care, and inpatient residential care is a short-term stay to help a person stabilize. Many people step down from these settings into PHP or IOP. Learn more about step-down care after a psychiatric hospital stay.
Virtual Care and Faster Access
For employers, Cigna highlights 24/7/365 service, including crisis and emergency support, and a behavioral network that works with virtual care partners such as MDLIVE, Talkspace and Headspace Care. Members can use myCigna to find virtual therapy appointments and self-guided tools. Which of these extras you can use depends on your plan.
The Cigna Group also reports that Evernorth Behavioral Health no longer requires prior authorization for routine outpatient mental health care or intensive outpatient programs. That means you can generally see any in-network behavioral health provider for routine visits without waiting for approval. Higher levels of care, such as PHP or inpatient stays, may still need a review for medical necessity.
Your Rights Under Federal Law
Two federal laws help protect your mental health coverage. The Affordable Care Act makes behavioral health treatment, such as psychotherapy and counseling, an essential health benefit in Marketplace plans. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act says plans that offer mental health benefits can’t impose less favorable limits on those benefits than on medical and surgical benefits, such as higher copays or tighter visit limits. To learn more, read our guide to mental health parity law.
How to Check Your Cigna Coverage
The most reliable answer to “does Cigna cover mental health treatment” for you personally comes from your own plan. A few quick steps can save you from surprise bills:
- Log in to myCigna to check your plan’s behavioral health benefits and search the directory for in-network providers.
- Call the behavioral health number on the back of your Cigna ID card, as Cigna’s mental health care guide recommends, and ask about coverage for therapy, psychiatry, PHP and IOP.
- Ask about your deductible, copays or coinsurance, and whether any service needs prior approval.
- Skip the phone tree: our team can verify your insurance and explain your benefits.
For more tips, see how to check your insurance coverage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Cigna cover therapy for depression and anxiety?
Most Cigna plans cover outpatient therapy and medication management for conditions like depression and anxiety. Your copay or coinsurance depends on your plan and whether the provider is in network.
Does Cigna cover partial hospitalization for mental health?
Cigna lists partial hospitalization among the levels of mental health care. Because it is a higher level of care, your plan may review it for medical necessity before or during treatment.
What if I’m in a mental health crisis?
If you are thinking about suicide or are in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7. In an emergency, call 911. Our guide on what to do in a mental health crisis has more steps.
Does Cigna also cover addiction treatment?
Yes, most plans include substance use benefits too. See our companion guide, does Cigna cover rehab.
Get Help for Mental Health in Lancaster, PA
The Ranch Pennsylvania Outpatient Services offers mental health treatment for depression, anxiety, panic disorder, PTSD and bipolar disorder, with or without substance use. We accept many Cigna plans, and coverage varies by plan. Verify your insurance to learn what your plan covers. Our admissions team is available 24/7, and calls are free and confidential.
