A Second Chance: Helping People Return to Work After a Disabling Injury or Illness

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 21, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Brian Bell was a senior investigator with the Los Angeles District Attorney's office when he injured his back during a physical agility test. No longer able to perform his regular duties, he began receiving disability benefits, but didn't give up on his hope to someday work again as a detective. With the help of his disability insurance provider and his own entrepreneurial spirit, Bell recently launched a background check business that enables him to earn more money than he received from his disability benefits and continue working in the investigative field he so enjoyed.

Bell is one of several individuals speaking about his successful vocational rehabilitation at one of three CIGNA Group Insurance featured events next week in Pittsburgh, PA, Dallas, TX and Glendale, CA. The events are part of the company's annual celebration of National Rehabilitation Awareness Week, which CIGNA Group Insurance sponsors, and which is held from Sept. 18-24 in cooperation with the National Rehabilitation Awareness Foundation (NRAF) of Scranton, PA.

"We're very proud to once again sponsor the NRAF's celebration and to be part of this important effort to increase awareness and support for nearly 50 million Americans with disabilities," says Mark Marsters, senior vice president, CIGNA Group Insurance Disability Management Solutions. "We work hard to create innovative and realistic solutions that help people return to a productive life after they've experienced a disability. For many people, rehabilitative services are a key part of their recovery and return to work."

"I'm so thankful that my organization had this insurance to begin with, and for the great vocational counselors at CIGNA who helped me get back on my feet," says Bell, whose disability settlement helped him launch his business. "I was 44 when I became disabled and I knew that was too young to retire. Plus I enjoyed working and I hadn't yet achieved what I wanted to in my career. I'm really excited about this next chapter in my life."

How Vocational Rehabilitation Helps People Return to Productive Lives

Most Americans will require at least one rehabilitative service in their lives, according to the NRAF. Rehabilitation is a medical specialty that helps restore people to health and productive lives after a potentially disabling disease or injury. Vocational rehabilitation focuses on helping people establish realistic return-to-work goals, while reducing any perceived barriers that may prohibit them from working. In addition to its own staff of certified rehabilitation counselors, CIGNA Group Insurance provides access to a nationwide network of rehabilitation specialists through Intracorp, a CIGNA subsidiary. These specialists help assess work options and guide employees toward rebuilding their lives and careers.

In addition to improving lives, statistics show that medical rehabilitation also saves money. For every $1 spent on rehabilitative care, it is estimated that $11 are saved on long-term disability costs. These savings can provide a meaningful impact on the bottom line for employers as they manage health and productivity costs.

As a leader in disability management solutions, CIGNA Group Insurance offers a variety of innovative vocational rehabilitation capabilities to help people return to productive work, including:

Personalized transitional work: Through Philadelphia-based Intracorp, a CIGNA subsidiary and recognized leader in case management and return-to-work services, CIGNA Group Insurance places individuals in personalized transitional assignments while they are unable to return to their traditional work demands. Transitional work can be offered through tasks developed by an Intracorp vocational specialist within the individual's original workplace, or in volunteer positions in non-profit organizations. Transitional work serves as a productive step in an individual's treatment and recovery plan. These work assignments promote safe activity as well as personal self-esteem as the individual with a disability re-enters the work world.

Telecommuting or Home Based Work: Through a variety of strategic partnerships, CIGNA offers innovative solutions for employees who can't return to their former employers, their former occupations, or who live in remote locations where there are limited employment opportunities. These solutions, which include work as customer service phone representatives, for example, are available to nearly all employees, regardless of their disability or where they live.

Ticket to Work Program: The Ticket to Work program encourages people with disabilities to work without choosing between having a job and having continued benefits through Social Security. In addition to access to services and support, Ticket to Work offers the potential for expanded availability of health coverage for people with disabilities who fear that returning to work will jeopardize their Medicaid or Medicare benefits. CIGNA Group Insurance offers these services through an alliance with Integrated DisAbility Resources, Inc., a Ticket to Work employment network.

"No two people and no two disabilities are exactly the same. That's why we've developed or partnered with other rehabilitation experts to ensure we have a wide variety of programs to help people get back to work," says Marsters. "We believe we've got a solution for just about everybody who can work again."

For more information on National Rehabilitation Awareness Week, visit the NRAF website at http://www.nraf-rehabnet.org/

About CIGNA

CIGNA Corporation and its subsidiaries are major providers of employee benefits offered through the workplace, including health care products and services, group life, accident and disability insurance. CIGNA Group Insurance is a leader in disability insurance with solutions that focus on returning employees to a productive working life as quickly and safely as possible. For more information, visit: http://www.cigna.com/.