Tenet Announces National Agreement with CIGNA

Published on Tuesday, 29 June 2010 10:04 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

DALLAS-( Business Wire )-

Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) today announced it signed a new multi-year agreement with CIGNA Corporation (NYSE: CI), which became effective June 1, 2010.

Under the new agreement, CIGNA health plan participants have access to health care services at all hospitals owned and operated by Tenet subsidiaries as well as Tenet’s freestanding diagnostic imaging centers and ambulatory surgery centers. Tenet Physicians Inc., which contracts for the more than 400 physicians employed by various Tenet subsidiaries, is also part of the new agreement. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The agreement contains provisions that will allow hospitals to receive higher reimbursement rates when they reach certain quality performance metrics. In November 2009, Tenet announced that 42 of its hospitals had received 257 quality designations from CIGNA Healthcare and 26 hospitals received the prestigious Center of Excellence designations that recognize hospitals for meeting CIGNA’s high standards for quality and efficiency.

“This agreement shows that Tenet’s hospitals are well-positioned in terms of pay-for-performance from health plans like CIGNA,” said Stephen L. Newman, M.D., Tenet’s chief operating officer. “It also affirms our continued commitment to providing our patients with high-quality care that is focused on evidence-based medicine. We are pleased to have strengthened our relationship with CIGNA.”

“Our goal is to offer clients and customers a choice for their health care needs,” adds Dr. Alan Muney, senior vice president for CIGNA Healthcare. “This agreement furthers our efforts to build a strong network of hospitals and doctors committed to performance outcomes that can lead to enhanced care for our customers. We are pleased to have extended our contract with Tenet’s broad network of hospitals, physicians and outpatient centers and look forward to working closely with them.”

Tenet Healthcare Corporation is a health care services company whose subsidiaries and affiliates own and operate acute care hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and diagnostic imaging centers. Tenet's hospitals and related health care facilities are committed to providing high quality care to patients in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit www.tenethealth.com.

Some of the statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on our current expectations and could be affected by numerous factors and are subject to various risks and uncertainties discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2009, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and periodic reports on Form 8-K. Do not rely on any forward-looking statement, as we cannot predict or control many of the factors that ultimately may affect our ability to achieve the results estimated. We make no promise to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of changes in underlying factors, new information, future events or otherwise.

Tenet Healthcare CorporationMedia:David Matthews, 469-893-2640David.Matthews@tenethealth.comorInvestors:Thomas Rice, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.