What's Coming? CIGNAenvoy.com

Coming August 2008 is CIGNA International Expatriate Benefit's newest tool, CIGNA Envoy, which provides a new level of functionality to make administering benefits to expatriates and business travelers easier than ever. The employer portal on CIGNAenvoy.com allows employers to identify their covered employees and view plan details.

Building upon the latest web development technology, CIGNAenvoy.com streamlines all of the most important tools CIEB employers need. While our International Service Center is always available for assistance, employers can now log-in to CIGNA Envoy for immediate access to resources and information. Stay tuned for next month's Global Perspectives for more information on CIGNAenvoy.com.

Global Focus: CIEB Sales Representatives Get
On-The-Ground Information

China's rise as an international business force yields opportunities and challenges for multinational companies and their expatriate assignees. CIEB Sales Representatives Allen Koski and Stephen Killian recently visited major cities and regions across China in an effort to assess the state of health care and coverage needs.

Although many new clinics with clinical staff recruited from other countries are available, less desirable facilities abound. For example, many hospitals are not air conditioned in regions with high temperatures and humidity, resulting in patient discomfort or even compromised medical outcomes.

Koski and Killian's travels led them to one over-arching conclusion: there is a higher duty of care and responsibility in deploying expatriates and business travelers to China than to other common overseas destinations. Individuals who are considered to be professionals within society often are held to a higher standard of responsibility, and such is the case for benefit practitioners. It is incumbent on employers to provide access not only to health care, but also to provide comprehensive and structured pre-departure planning and information so that international assignees can prepare properly for and minimize the risks they may face.

What to ask before visiting an overseas health care provider:

• Have other expatriates received care from the provider?
• Has a reliable source screened the practice, or, is it included in CIEB's Provider Directory?
• What is known about the facilities?
• Does the provider or facility have a direct payment arrangement in place with CIEB?

Read more about the learning outcomes from Koski’s and Killian’s China visit at our website.

CIGNA Dental PPO Network: Savings and Convenience for Members in the U.S.

In Spring 2008, CIEB expanded its access to include dental providers in most states within the U.S. with the addition of the CIGNA Dental Network to our broad range of U.S. preferred providers. More than 100,000 dental provider locations, including general dentists and specialists are available to members with CIGNA Dental coverage while in the U.S., lowering their out-of-pocket costs for covered dental services and providing access to quality care.

Members are not required to select a primary care dentist, although we encourage doing so for ongoing care coordination. There's also no requirement to use a participating general dentist or specialist, and no penalty for using a non-network dental provider.

Here are the primary advantages for CIEB members and their covered family members in the U.S. for choosing a CIGNA Dental Network provider:

• Lower out-of-pocket costs for covered services
• No balance billing, which means that network dentists cannot charge beyond the negotiated, discounted fee for covered services
• Participating dentists submit claims to CIEB on behalf of a member, eliminating the need for a member to do so
• Members will not need a referral to a network dentist and no new ID card is necessary

Podcasts for Busy People'

CIEB brokers, prospects, and customers all benefit from listening to podcasts about our current programs and services when visiting CIEB's public website.

Currently there are seven podcasts for employers, prospects, and brokers to listen to directly from a computer. The podcasts may also be downloaded onto an MP3 device to listen to at any time! The library, which is always expanding, includes:

Clinical Resources: This podcast provides information on the clinical resources available to employees.

Best in Class Times Two: The CIEB-International SOS^® Relationship: CIEB's relationship with International SOS helps to protect employees and their families.

Protecting Your Return on Investment: CIEB's coverage is the best way to protect employees' health and an employers' return on investment.

Why Do We Need Specialized International Benefits: CIEB's international health care services meet the needs of international employees in ways that domestic plans simply cannot duplicate.

What Is CIGNALinks^® and Why Is It Important to Deploy Your Expatriates With It? CIEB's international health care alliances in more than a dozen countries provide our members with discounts, comprehensive worldwide coverage, and settlement at the point of service.

Selecting the Right Coverage for International Assignees: CIEB's experience and vast international presence provides us with insight into the intricacies of international health care. Find out why selecting the right coverage is so important.

Meet our Medical Director: Dr. Lyndon Laminack, CIEB's full-time medical director, offers decades of international clinical experience to benefit our members and their employers.

' and for Their Busy Employees

To help our members prepare for their assignments, CIEB introduced a series of podcasts in Fall 2007 on our secure member website. The podcast library has continued to grow since then. Our podcasts are designed to facilitate transition to expatriate life, and help prepare your clients' international assignees for obstacles and challenges they may face while living abroad. Sample topics include:

• How can I prepare for my international assignment?
• What do I do now that I'm on assignment?
• How can I make the most of CIEB's member website?
• What resources are available in a crisis?

A sample member podcast is available for listening or to download from our podcast library found under the ‘Tools and Resources’ tab at our public website (http://www.cignaexpats.com).

DISCLAIMER: “CIGNA” refers to any one of the underwriting companies owned directly or indirectly by CIGNA Corporation and/or its subsidiaries and affiliates. CIGNA International, CIGNA International HealthCare Benefits, and CIGNA International Expatriate Benefits refer to these subsidiaries, affiliates and other contracted companies. Products and services are provided by these subsidiaries, affiliates and other contracted companies and not by CIGNA Corporation. “CIGNA” is a registered service mark.

CIEB's web-based tools, such as CIGNA Envoy^SM, are available for informational purposes only. They do not constitute medical advice. CIEB's web tools are not intended to be a substitute for proper medical care provided by a physician and not intended as a means for self-diagnosis. CIGNA Envoy is a service mark of CIGNA Corporation.

Any reference to other organizations or companies and/or their products or services, including their Internet sites, is not an endorsement or warranty of the services, information, or products provided by them, nor should a reference to other organizations be construed as their endorsement or warranty of CIEB's products or services. All trademarks (registered and unregistered) are the property of their respective owners.

Copyright 2008 CIGNA
The information provided herein is believed accurate as of the date of publication, and is subject to change. Products and services may not be available in all jurisdictions and are expressly excluded where prohibited by applicable law.