A utilization-management company handling prior authorization for Cigna imaging, cardiology, and specialty services. Affected services need an eviCore case, not just a call to Cigna.

Cigna Billing Guide: 90-Day Filing, eviCore Auths & Appeals

Quick Facts (Typical — Your Contract Rules)

Item	Typical rule
Timely filing (participating)	90 days from date of service is the common contract standard; out-of-network commonly 180 — verify yours
Appeals	Generally 180 days from the determination for the first-level appeal, with a second level available after
Provider portal	CignaforHCP.com — eligibility, claims, precertification, and appeals
Provider services phone	800-882-4462 (800-88CIGNA); plan-specific numbers on the member ID card
Common payer ID	62308 for most Cigna plans — confirm per clearinghouse and plan

Cigna Timely Filing Limits

Cigna runs one of the shorter initial windows among the majors. Participating contracts are frequently tighter than the non-par default, so the contract is the thing to read, not the general policy. The windows below are the ones most commonly published in provider manuals — treat them as a starting point, not a substitute for your executed contract, which overrides everything here. TFL is the abbreviation you will see in most payer documentation.

Claim type	Product	Typical window
Initial claim	Participating	90–180 days from date of service (90 is common)
Initial claim	Non-participating	180 days typical
Corrected claim	All	180 days from the remit, typical
Appeal	All	180 days from the remit, typical

The clock people miss: the corrected-claim and appeal windows are separate from the initial filing window, and they are usually shorter. At most payers they run from the date of the remit, not the date of service — so a claim filed on day 5 and denied on day 80 has not reset anything. This is the most common way a claim filed on time still ends up written off.

Once you know your window, our timely filing calculator turns it into the actual deadline date and days remaining. For every other payer side by side, see the timely filing limits by payer table. If a claim has already denied for late filing, CO-29 is the code you will see.

The Cigna-specific layer: for imaging, cardiology, and several specialty services, prior authorization runs through eviCore (a separate utilization-management company) rather than Cigna itself. An auth that was "called in to Cigna" but never touched eviCore is the root of a whole family of avoidable denials.

Timely Filing: 90 Days Means Move

Cigna sits with UnitedHealthcare at the tight end of the filing spectrum (compare the UHC guide and Aetna's roomier 120). Ninety days disappears fast when a claim rejects for data errors and sits in a work queue — which is why the survival habit is watching clearinghouse acceptance reports daily, not weekly. Rejections do not stop the filing clock; only an accepted claim does, and that acceptance report is also your appeal evidence when a CO-29 arrives anyway. Deadline math for any payer: timely filing calculator.

The Appeal Ladder

Reconsideration/first-level appeal (typically 180 days): submit through CignaforHCP with the claim, the issue, and evidence — processing errors, coding disputes with documentation, and proof-of-timely-filing cases live here.
Second-level appeal: for denials upheld at level one — typically reviewed by different personnel, and the right stage for full clinical packets on medical-necessity disputes. Draft the letters in a minute with the appeal letter generator.
eviCore denials appeal through eviCore first: authorization-based denials often require the clinical appeal at the UM vendor level — sending it only to Cigna wastes the window. The denial letter names the right door.

Denial Patterns Cigna Is Known For

eviCore authorization misses — imaging and cardiac testing scheduled before the eviCore case number exists; build the eviCore check into scheduling for the affected service list
90-day timely filing casualties (CO-29) — usually rejected-claim queues nobody watched
Modifier and bundling edits — Cigna publishes its own reimbursement policies on top of NCCI; CO-97/CO-236 patterns respond to policy citations in appeals
Plan-family routing — Cigna Healthcare commercial, Medicare Advantage, and shared-administration arrangements route differently; the member ID card is the source of truth

For Patients With Cigna

Members generally have 180 days from the EOB to appeal, with instructions on the EOB and the member number on the ID card. Start with the EOB itself (how to read it), match it against the provider bill before paying anything (dispute guide), and remember that emergency and in-network-facility surprise bills fall under the No Surprises Act. If a service was denied for "no authorization," ask whether the authorization went through eviCore — as a member you can request the review file, and missing-auth denials for emergencies are appealable almost by definition.

Practical Habits That Keep Cigna AR Clean

Maintain the eviCore service list as a living document at scheduling — when a service on the list books, the eviCore case number becomes a required field before the appointment confirms
Watch acceptance reports daily, not weekly — 90 days forgives nothing, and a rejected claim aging quietly in a queue is how timely-filing write-offs are born
Submit within a week of service as policy — practices that treat the filing limit as a deadline flirt with it; practices that treat submission speed as a habit never meet it
Cite Cigna's own reimbursement policy in bundling appeals — the policies are published, and appeals that quote the specific policy language settle faster than appeals that argue in general
Trend eviCore denials separately from Cigna denials — they have different appeal doors and different root causes, and blending them into one report hides both underlying patterns from everyone reviewing it

Cigna Appeals: The Levels and What Each One Needs

Cigna's appeal window is typically more generous than its initial filing window — which is the reverse of the pattern most billers expect. The short initial window is the risk on Cigna claims; once denied, you usually have more room to respond than you had to file.

Level	Applies to	Typical window
First-level appeal	Participating and non-par	180 days from the remit, typical
Second-level appeal	Where offered	Plan-specific
Corrected claim (not an appeal)	All	180 days from the remit, typical
Provider dispute (non-clinical)	All	Follows the plan dispute process

Get the route right first. Cigna distinguishes between a clinical appeal — you are challenging a medical-necessity or coverage decision — and an administrative dispute over pricing, bundling or contract terms. Sending a pricing dispute through the clinical appeal process is a common reason a submission comes back unactioned with the clock still running.

Read the reason code before choosing a route. A coding error usually needs a corrected claim, not an appeal — appeals are for decisions you disagree with, corrections are for claims you got wrong. Filing the wrong one wastes the window.

Date the clock from the remit, not the service. Nearly every appeal window runs from the date of the remittance advice. Our appeal deadline calculator converts that into the actual date.

Attach the evidence the reason code asks for. Medical necessity denials need the clinical note and the coverage criteria; bundling denials need the operative report showing the services were distinct; eligibility denials need proof of coverage on the date of service.

Keep proof of submission. A dated clearinghouse acceptance report or a certified-mail receipt is what wins a "we never received it" dispute later. Our appeal letter generator handles the letter itself.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the timely filing limit for Cigna?

Commonly 90 days from the date of service for participating providers and 180 for out-of-network, though contracts vary. The clearinghouse acceptance report is your proof when a timely claim denies anyway.

How long do I have to appeal a Cigna denial?

Typically 180 days from the determination for the first level, with a second level after an upheld denial. Authorization denials often appeal through eviCore first - the denial letter names the door.

What is eviCore and why does it matter?

A utilization-management company that handles prior authorization for Cigna imaging, cardiology, and several specialty services. Auths must be obtained there for affected services - calling Cigna alone does not create an eviCore case.

What payer ID does Cigna use?

62308 for most plans - confirm against the member ID card and your clearinghouse list, especially for shared-administration and Medicare Advantage products.

What is Cigna's appeal timely filing limit?

Cigna first-level appeals are typically due within 180 days of the remittance advice - usually a longer window than the 90 to 180 days allowed for the initial claim. Cigna also separates clinical appeals from administrative pricing or bundling disputes, and sending one through the other's process commonly results in the submission being returned unactioned.

Cigna Billing Guide: Filing Limits, Appeals & Contacts