BLOOMFIELD, Conn., Jan. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Taking a whole-person approach to health by integrating Cigna medical, pharmacy and behavioral benefits drives better health engagement, outcomes and lowers total health care costs, according to Cigna's fifth annual Value of Integration study, released today. This year's findings are based on a two-year analysis of more than 2.2 million customer medical claims from Cigna customers who receive coverage through their employer.

"Employers continue to find great value, both for their organization and their workforce, by offering fully integrated benefits that make health care simple, more predictable and ultimately more affordable, while best supporting individuals' physical and mental health," said Matt Totterdale, senior vice president, Cigna Pharmacy.  "With over 30 years of designing and building our benefits to work together as one, we're able to see every step of our customers' health journey — anticipating needs, engaging our customers and their providers early and providing individualized, one-on-one ongoing support, which is increasingly important as more patients are relying on virtual care during COVID-19."

Integrated benefits reduces costs

The study shows that employers with Cigna's integrated medical, pharmacy and comprehensive behavioral benefits continue to see meaningful savings in total medical costs, as compared to those with standalone medical and pharmacy coverage. According to the study, on average, Cigna clients recognized savings of $227 annually per customer¹.  For individuals identified as having a health improvement opportunity, average cost savings increase to $4,741 annually per customer.

Savings can be even more significant when looking at customers living with high-cost conditions. The study shows total medical cost savings of more than $6,700 for individuals with an oncology diagnosis and more than $2,700 for individuals with a diabetes diagnosis.

"Through effective contracting with pharmaceutical manufacturers, collaborating with providers, proactively engaging customers and acting on real-time data and insights, we're able to get ahead of gaps in care and drive meaningful interventions," said Totterdale. "We are by their side, helping them take steps to achieve their best health — body and mind. This total health care approach eliminates those gaps, helping to protect against surprise costs and driving better outcomes for our customers."

Integrated benefits increases engagement

According to the study, Cigna's integrated customers are significantly more engaged in their health and experience greater opportunity for improved health outcomes. In fact, the study found:

• Higher engagement for customers living with depression (21 percent), diabetes (11 percent) or an oncology diagnosis (10 percent).
• A 25 percent higher customer engagement in Cigna programs such as counseling, lifestyle or wellness coaching, smoking cessation, and case management for more complex conditions.

The study also reveals that engaged customers are:

• Less likely to have emergency room visits, especially those living with depression (16 percent), diabetes (14 percent) or musculoskeletal conditions like arthritis or back pain (11 percent).
• More likely to use in-network, high-performing providers (seven percent).

Through integrated benefits, Cigna is able to identify and engage early with preventive health screens and predictive modeling. This holistic approach to customer health looks across all benefits, engaging providers and working to remove barriers to care.  Cigna health coaches are able to support customers every step of the way, delivering ongoing support by continually screening for gaps in care, mental health co-morbidities, and opportunities for cost savings like financial assistance and programs that cap the cost of certain drugs, including insulin. 

"This holistic view gives us access to the entire health profile, including behaviors, preferences, conditions and medications. We can then accurately leverage predictive analytics to get ahead of diagnoses and trigger outreach to customers and providers to guide them to the next best action," said Young Fried, chief clinical officer, Cigna Pharmacy.

To read the whitepaper about Cigna's Value of Integration study, click here.

About the Study

The Value of Integration report is conducted annually to assess and evaluate opportunities to optimize health plan benefit designs. Cigna's 2020 Value of Integration study examined approximately 2.2 million customer claims from January 2018 to December 2019 from medical claims for group benefit plans. Customers were matched between the two groups on key attributes, including demographics, health condition, access to health improvement solutions, plan design and geographies.

Milliman, Inc. provided an independent review of the approach and methods Cigna used to conduct the 2020 Value of Integration study and found them to be reasonable and appropriate.  Cigna used a published academic method and appropriate statistical tests and rigor. Milliman was engaged by Cigna to perform this review of Cigna's analysis. Milliman did not conduct an independent analysis to verify any results. Milliman did not audit the data or the programming code used to conduct the study and does not guarantee any results. The data used for the Cigna study was Cigna's internal data. Please see https://www.milliman.com/cigna-integrated-benefits for a publicly available version of Milliman's report.

About Cigna

Cigna Corporation is a global health service company dedicated to improving the health, well-being and peace of mind of those we serve. Cigna delivers choice, predictability, affordability and access to quality care through integrated capabilities and connected, personalized solutions that advance whole person health. All products and services are provided exclusively by or through operating subsidiaries of Cigna Corporation, including Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, Evernorth companies or their affiliates and Express Scripts companies or their affiliates. Such products and services include an integrated suite of health services, such as medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy, vision, supplemental benefits and other related products.

Cigna maintains sales capability in over 30 countries and jurisdictions, and has more than 170 million customer relationships around the world. To learn more about Cigna®, including links to follow us on Facebook or Twitter, visit www.cigna.com. 

Media Contact

Meaghan MacDonald
1 (860) 840-1212
meaghan.macdonald@cigna.com

¹ Customer refers to covered members (employee or covered dependent)