I work at Nike with Cigna. Are you in-network?

When Nike's plan year is on Cigna, yes. Nike has rotated between Cigna, Aetna, and Kaiser across plan years, so the first verification is whether your current Nike card is actually Cigna. If it is, I'm in-network for the standard Cigna tiers and the behavioral arm routes through Evernorth. Worth checking your specific tier for the copay or coinsurance structure on the consult.

What's the deal with Evernorth?

Evernorth is Cigna's behavioral health subsidiary. The branding split is real: medical claims and benefits are Cigna; therapy claims and benefits are Evernorth. They're the same overall company. The two names mean two different phone trees and portals to navigate, which is the most common source of confusion. The billing routes correctly either way.

My Cigna plan is a national-employer one (tech, corporate, etc.). Does that affect anything?

Probably not. The national-employer Cigna plans tend to have consistent in-network billing for behavioral health, and I'm in-network for the standard commercial Cigna plans. The variation is in deductible and copay structure, not in whether the plan covers therapy in-network. Member services (the Evernorth number) is the cleanest way to verify your specific tier.

Does Cigna cover couples therapy?

In my experience, yes, billed under standard outpatient psychotherapy codes with a clinical diagnosis for one partner. Cigna/Evernorth claims for couples sessions have been consistently adjudicated. If you want certainty up front, the Evernorth member services line can verify for your specific plan.

I work at Nike with Cigna. Are you in-network?

When Nike's plan year is on Cigna, yes. Nike has rotated between Cigna, Aetna, and Kaiser across plan years, so the first verification is whether your current Nike card is actually Cigna. If it is, I'm in-network for the standard Cigna tiers and the behavioral arm routes through Evernorth. Worth checking your specific tier for the copay or coinsurance structure on the consult.

What's the deal with Evernorth?

Evernorth is Cigna's behavioral health subsidiary. The branding split is real: medical claims and benefits are Cigna; therapy claims and benefits are Evernorth. They're the same overall company. The two names mean two different phone trees and portals to navigate, which is the most common source of confusion. The billing routes correctly either way.

My Cigna plan is a national-employer one (tech, corporate, etc.). Does that affect anything?

Probably not. The national-employer Cigna plans tend to have consistent in-network billing for behavioral health, and I'm in-network for the standard commercial Cigna plans. The variation is in deductible and copay structure, not in whether the plan covers therapy in-network. Member services (the Evernorth number) is the cleanest way to verify your specific tier.

Does Cigna cover couples therapy?

In my experience, yes, billed under standard outpatient psychotherapy codes with a clinical diagnosis for one partner. Cigna/Evernorth claims for couples sessions have been consistently adjudicated. If you want certainty up front, the Evernorth member services line can verify for your specific plan.

Therapy with Cigna in Oregon

In-network with Cigna for outpatient therapy.

In-network for Cigna. Direct billing, copay or coinsurance at the session. Cigna's behavioral health arm is Evernorth, so don't be thrown if your benefits portal routes through that name.

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How Cigna works with me

Direct billing, no paperwork on your end.

In-network billing means I send the claim to your insurer directly. You pay your copay or coinsurance at the session, and the rest is handled between me and them.

Cigna is a national carrier with a heavy Oregon presence through employer plans, particularly in tech and corporate. Nike and Intel have both used Cigna in multiple plan years for their Oregon workforce (Nike has rotated between Cigna, Aetna, and Kaiser across tiers and years; Intel has used Cigna in several plan generations alongside other carriers), which makes Cigna one of the carriers I see most often for Portland-metro tech clients. The behavioral health network is administered by Evernorth (Cigna's mental and behavioral health subsidiary, rebranded from Cigna Behavioral Health between 2020 and 2022). Some EOBs still display the Cigna Behavioral Health name even after the rebrand, which is normal. Your benefits portal, EOBs, and any phone calls about therapy will route through the Evernorth name rather than the Cigna name. The billing on my side is the same: I bill Cigna directly through the Evernorth network, your copay or coinsurance is what you owe at the session, and the EOB shows up in the Cigna or Evernorth portal a few weeks later.

If your specific Cigna plan turns out to be out-of-network with me, you have two options: pay the self-pay fee directly ($250 per fifty-minute session), or pay the self-pay fee and submit a superbill to Cigna for out-of-network reimbursement. Most out-of-network benefits cover a portion. Some cover most of it.

The practical reality

What you should actually expect.

What's specifically worth knowing about Cigna coverage before the first session.

The Evernorth-vs-Cigna naming is the most common source of confusion for new Cigna clients. Your medical Cigna login, app, and member services number are separate from your Evernorth behavioral health login, app, and member services number, and when you go to verify therapy benefits the Evernorth line is the one to call (the main Cigna line will route you back to Evernorth anyway, but slower). Outside of that, Cigna outpatient mental health on most commercial plans is billed at parity with medical visits. Cigna employer-plan copays vary widely by tier; the Portland-metro tech ones often come in around $20-30 per session or coinsurance 10-20% after deductible. Telehealth is at parity. Cigna does not require prior authorization for standard short-term outpatient psychotherapy. For couples and family sessions, claims billed under standard outpatient psychotherapy codes have been consistently adjudicated.

For the full carrier list and the out-of-network superbill explanation, the insurance overview covers the broader practice context.

Verify your plan

What to ask member services.

The cleanest verification before our first session is a five-minute call to Cigna member services. Here's the script that gets useful answers.

Call the Evernorth behavioral health number on the back of your card and ask these three questions:

Is provider Gerry McNamara, LMFT (NPI available on request) in-network for outpatient mental health on my plan?
What's my copay or coinsurance per session for CPT code 90834 (individual psychotherapy)? And for CPT 90847 if we're doing couples or family sessions?
Has my deductible been met for the year? If not, how much is left, and does my plan have a separate behavioral-health deductible?

If anything they tell you doesn't line up with what I'm saying on the consult, that's a useful signal: we sort it out before the first session rather than after a surprise EOB.

Common questions

Questions I get asked about Cigna.

I work at Nike with Cigna. Are you in-network?
When Nike's plan year is on Cigna, yes. Nike has rotated between Cigna, Aetna, and Kaiser across plan years, so the first verification is whether your current Nike card is actually Cigna. If it is, I'm in-network for the standard Cigna tiers and the behavioral arm routes through Evernorth. Worth checking your specific tier for the copay or coinsurance structure on the consult.
What's the deal with Evernorth?
Evernorth is Cigna's behavioral health subsidiary. The branding split is real: medical claims and benefits are Cigna; therapy claims and benefits are Evernorth. They're the same overall company. The two names mean two different phone trees and portals to navigate, which is the most common source of confusion. The billing routes correctly either way.
My Cigna plan is a national-employer one (tech, corporate, etc.). Does that affect anything?
Probably not. The national-employer Cigna plans tend to have consistent in-network billing for behavioral health, and I'm in-network for the standard commercial Cigna plans. The variation is in deductible and copay structure, not in whether the plan covers therapy in-network. Member services (the Evernorth number) is the cleanest way to verify your specific tier.
Does Cigna cover couples therapy?
In my experience, yes, billed under standard outpatient psychotherapy codes with a clinical diagnosis for one partner. Cigna/Evernorth claims for couples sessions have been consistently adjudicated. If you want certainty up front, the Evernorth member services line can verify for your specific plan.

Keep reading

What I help with that Cigna covers.

Next step

Ready to talk it through? Let's see if we're a fit.

Send a message, or set up a free 15-minute phone consult. You can reach me by email, call, or text. I'll get back to you within two business days.

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