Since Cigna and Baptist Health Jacksonville/Wolfson Children’s Hospital ended their contract in June 2026, families like Griffin’s say they’ve been left in limbo.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A St. Johns County mother says her 3-year-old son’s fight against cancer didn’t end when his treatment did.
Instead, Catherine Anderson says she’s now battling to ensure her son, Griffin, can continue receiving the follow-up scans that monitor whether his cancer has returned after Cigna and Baptist Health Jacksonville ended their network agreement in late June.
Griffin was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer, in April 2024. He underwent nine months of chemotherapy at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville. During treatment, doctors amputated his arm to remove the cancerous tumor.
“So far everything has looked good, and he’s been cancer-free since finishing treatment,” Anderson said.
But every three months Griffin needs a CT scan to make sure the cancer hasn’t returned.
Anderson said the family’s difficulties began after Baptist Health Jacksonville and Cigna ended their contract.
“Last month Cigna, which is our insurance company, went out of network with Baptist, which includes Wolfson Children’s Hospital, and Wolfson Children’s Hospital is the only pediatric hospital in Jacksonville. There isn’t anywhere else to do pediatric scans,” she said.
According to Anderson, the closest in-network provider for Griffin’s pediatric CT scans is Nemours Children’s Health in Orlando, a two-hour drive from their home.
“The anxiety of not knowing where the scan can take place is just overwhelming,” she said.
One day after First Coast News interviewed Anderson, she received a call from Cigna informing her that Griffin’s next CT scan at Wolfson Children’s Hospital had been approved.
“I’m relieved that we’ve got this approval. I’m glad that we’re going to be able to do it here, but I’m frustrated that it has taken, I mean, I’ve probably spent 20 to 30 hours on the phone over the past several weeks just working on this. And there’s a lot of parents that don’t have the time to do that,” Anderson said.
In a statement, Cigna said, “Griffin currently has an approved Continuity of Care arrangement through September 2026, allowing eligible covered services to continue at the in-network benefit level during this transition period,”
Cigna added that it is working with Griffin’s family and providers to evaluate his care needs beyond September.
Wolfson Children’s Hospital said it has dedicated teams helping affected families complete Cigna’s required paperwork, understand their options and advocate for continued access to medically necessary care. The hospital said it has heard from families experiencing delays in approvals and difficulty reaching live representatives at the insurance company.
Despite the approval for Griffin’s next scan, Anderson worries the issue will return when the temporary approval expires.
“Just sit down and talk to each other and figure it out. I mean, at the end of the day, you guys want to take care of kids. You guys both say that, and we love Wolfson’s. They’ve been great to my kids. Same thing for Cigna. I said it all along for Griffin’s treatment. They didn’t deny a single thing. They paid for everything. And so just figure it out. Please come together for the kids in Florida and come to an agreement,” Anderson said.
Cigna said Baptist Health Jacksonville left its network June 24 after declining an extension that would have maintained in-network coverage while a new agreement was finalized. The insurer said it agreed to Baptist’s proposed financial terms and maintains Baptist can return to the network by signing the agreement.
Baptist Health says it proposed lower reimbursement rates and significant concessions while preserving physicians’ ability to make medical decisions. The health system said Cigna instead sought contract terms that would give the insurer greater control over coverage and medical necessity determinations, preventing an agreement from being reached.
Baptist said it remains willing to continue negotiations and reach “a fair, market-based agreement that protects patient access while ensuring medical decisions remain between patients and their providers.”
Baptist Health noted that its emergency departments and Wolfson Children’s Emergency Centers remain available 24 hours a day, and emergency services must be covered by insurance companies at in-network rates.
First Coast News received the following two statements from both Baptist Health/Wolfson Children’s Hospital and Cigna Healthcare:
Baptist Health/Wolfson Children’s Hospital Statement
“Cigna’s decision to terminate its contract (effective June 24, 2026) with Wolfson Children’s Hospital is particularly disappointing as it limits access to critical pediatric care in our region. As the only dedicated children’s hospital in Northeast Florida, we play an irreplaceable role in caring for kids.
Patients cannot simply “go elsewhere” for pediatric specialists. Traveling to Orlando for care requires time away from work, transportation costs, lodging, meals and childcare for siblings. For many families, this burden is simply not sustainable. Asking these same families to also navigate additional paperwork, appeals and denials only adds unnecessary stress at a time when their focus should be on their child’s health and well-being.
Children living with chronic illnesses and other conditions depend on consistent, coordinated care from providers who know them and their medical history. Decisions that disrupt access to that care create unnecessary uncertainty for families and can jeopardize continuity of treatment for our most medically vulnerable patients. We are especially concerned that these decisions from Cigna are being made by leaders outside our community who may not fully understand the unique needs of the children and families we serve every day.
While approval of continuity of care requests ultimately remains in Cigna’s hands, we are supporting families as they navigate this process. Dedicated teams at Wolfson Children’s Hospital are working directly with affected families, like Griffin’s, to help them complete forms required by Cigna, understand their options and advocate for continued access to medically necessary care. Unfortunately, we are hearing from patient families that they are experiencing delays in approval from Cigna, with too much paperwork and not enough access to live staff at Cigna. Patient families have also shared they are not getting the attention they deserve and expect from Cigna and are concerned about the impact on their child’s health.
Eligible pediatric patients should not delay treatment while Continuity of Care requests are under review with Cigna. Patients/parents with questions can reach out to our team at 904.202.3210, Monday – Friday, 8 am – 5 pm, or email us at Questions@bmcjax.com.
We are disheartened for the children and families facing this uncertainty and will continue to advocate for every child to have access to the specialized care they need, close to home.”
Statement from Cigna Healthcare
“We recognize that network changes can be especially concerning for families whose children require ongoing specialized medical care. Our priority is to help ensure Griffin and his family understand and can access the covered health care services and support available under their health plan.
We have been working directly with the Anderson family and Griffin’s care team to answer questions, coordinate care, and help them understand the coverage options available to them. The family has access to a dedicated Cigna Healthcare advocate and care team for ongoing support.
Griffin currently has an approved Continuity of Care arrangement through September 2026, allowing eligible covered services to continue at the in-network benefit level during this transition period. We are also working with the family and providers to evaluate care needs beyond the current Continuity of Care period and help them understand any additional options and resources that may be available based on Griffin’s ongoing medical needs.”