Cigna's headquarters in Bloomfield, USA. Credit: askarim/Shutterstock
The Cigna Group will spend up to $150 million to reform its prior authorization, patient advocacy and provider services this year. CEO David Cordani announced the initiative in a Thursday conference call with securities analysts.
The murder of United HealthCare CEO Brian Thompson in early December heightened concerns throughout the industry and contributed to greater scrutiny of prior authorization practices. Thompson, who was in New York City to attend an annual investors meeting, had faced criticism for the company's rejection of insurance claims, and his family reported that he had received death threats in the past.
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“In early December we all witnessed the tragic murder of Brian Thompson, a leader at the UnitedHealth Group,” Cordani said. “The past several weeks have further challenged us to even more intensely listen to the public narrative about our industry. At the Cigna Group, we are further accelerating improvements and innovations to increase transparency, expand support and drive even greater accountability.”
Streamlining prior authorization is part of this process.
“Our focus is on making prior authorizations faster and simpler and expanding access to advocates for those facing complex health conditions to help them navigate every stage of their care journey,” he said. “These initiatives will require that we incur additional costs, but we firmly believe these are critical actions for the benefit of customers and patients. We will continue to take a prudent approach to these and future Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth actions in the weeks and months ahead, as we are determined to continue to evolve for the benefit of those we serve and build a more sustainable health care model.”
As previously reported by BenefitsPRO, executives also announced that stop-loss insurance costs spiked at Cigna in the fourth quarter, which will lead to price increases for employers renewing their coverage.The company said it is committed to balancing profitability with customer satisfaction.
"We know that more can be done within our health plan offering as well, for customers and patients as well as clinical partners, to further ease access to care timeliness and expand support programs,” Cordani said. “More specifically, Cigna Healthcare will soon be announcing steps to improve value and address patient points of friction.”
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Alan Goforth
Alan Goforth is a freelance writer in suburban Kansas City. In addition to freelancing for several publications, he has written a dozen books about sports and other topics.
