Cigna Healthcare’s U.S. employer chief strategy officer Heather Dlugolenski spoke on the evolution of benefits design in a recent fireside chat with Employee Benefit News.

The term "whole-person health" has been a buzzword in the medical field for nearly four decades, but the broad and evolving nature of this phrase often leads to different interpretations by different stakeholders, from patients to care providers to plan sponsors. This presents a challenge in defining a uniform holistic approach to health and wellness in employer-sponsored benefit design.

“Whole-person health” and “holistic health” can have broad meanings because they encompass various aspects of health, said Heather Dlugolenski, U.S. employer chief strategy officer at Cigna Healthcare. These terms are not just about managing illness, but also about recognizing and fostering behaviors that contribute to overall wellness.

In a recent fireside chat with Employee Benefits News reporter Deanna Cuadra at the news outlet’s “Benefits at Work” event, Dlugolenski offered her perspective on implementing a whole-person approach to health care benefits.

The importance of healthy behaviors

Adopting and maintaining healthy behaviors is the key to achieving whole-person health, Dlugolenski said. She noted that the concept first gained prominence in the 1970s, when people recognized the significant impact diet has on health. “This led to an explosion of innovation and services aimed at promoting healthy eating, which expanded to other healthy behaviors,” she said.

Dlugolenski shared some of her own health care experiences to illustrate the importance of monitoring patient behaviors. After delivering her sons via C-section, she was given the standard opioid regimen as part of her recovery. In what is ultimately a common experience for people in similar situations, she began exhibiting signs of dependency while in the hospital, like checking the clock and asking about her next dose. In fact, Cigna Healthcare research shows that 1 in 5 people are at increased risk of opioid addiction with just a 10-day prescription.

Recognizing these signs, her medical team changed her medication in order to prevent a potential opioid addiction. “The hospital staff noticed that I was exhibiting these behaviors, and they intervened immediately,” she said.

Years later, Dlugolenski lost a lot of weight following the death of her father. “I had a regular check-up appointment relatively close to his passing with a doctor whom I adore. She noticed the physical change and asked several questions about my behaviors and emotional state,” she said. This led to a deeper conversation that resulted in Dlugolenski seeking help through an employee assistance program. The interplay between physical health and emotional well-being is a key aspect of a whole-person health approach to care, which can lead to better outcomes, she said.

Looking beyond physical and mental health

Dlugolenski stressed that whole-person health involves a wider understanding of the factors that impact overall well-being. “We are well aware of the significance of addressing mental health needs and the correlation of a healthy mind and a healthy body, but whole-person health is actually more than that,” she said. She referenced ongoing research from The Cigna Group on vitality, which enables individuals to pursue life with health, strength, and energy. The research highlights that vitality extends beyond physical and emotional well-being; it also incorporates environmental health, spiritual wellness, a sense of purpose, financial stability, and even the quality of an employee’s relationship with their manager.

“Being healthy is much more than the absence of physical ailments or having positive test results. It involves a broader spectrum of factors,” Dlugolenski said. She added that the definition of “whole-person health” will continue to evolve, and that is a good thing. “It will push us to better address workforce needs in all dimensions of health,” she said.

Taking a personalized, flexible approach to care

In discussing the design of whole-person health benefits, Dlugolenski noted the importance of segmented, tailored offerings. “It’s not just about offering an oncology management program for employees and family members dealing with cancer, it’s now having distinct programs to manage breast cancer, to manage colorectal cancer, and so on. It’s designing benefits to meet the individual needs of each employee.” 

Dlugolenski suggests that organizations conduct extensive data analyses to understand the whole-health needs of their employee populations and to design benefits around those needs. Integrating navigation services is crucial to deploying personalized solutions to the people who need them. Employers need to have flexible plans and service network options that can nimbly adapt to changing workforce needs and to the introduction of new treatments and technologies.

Flexibility is also crucial to successful benefit design. Dlugolenski advocates for a “test and learn” mindset when designing and implementing benefit programs. “This approach can help companies adapt to unforeseen challenges,” she said, “so they can better meet the whole-person health needs of their employees.”