Insurance giant Cigna has maintained its position as a leading payer nationwide, despite both positive and negative events over the last two months.
Here are nine updates on Cigna, as reported by Becker's since June 21:
1. Cigna Healthcare promoted Marlene Matsuoka to general manager for its group employer business in Northern California.
2. Cigna earned profits of $1.8 billion in the second quarter of this fiscal year, up 6% year over year. It was the fourth-most profitable payer in the U.S. that quarter.
3. EncircleRx, a Cigna program helping employers control the cost of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss, hit 2 million enrollees in its first six months.
4. San Francisco-based Dignity Health's Arizona locations will be out-of-network with Cigna's commercial and Medicare Advantage plans Sept. 1 if an agreement is not reached between the two groups. A Cigna spokesperson told Becker's the insurer will continue to work with Dignity to reach a contract.
5. The Cigna Group will allocate $9 million toward health equity initiatives over three years. Houston and Hartford, Conn., will be the first communities to receive funding.
6. Richmond, Va.-based VCU Health reached new multi-year agreements with Cigna and Aetna. Each agreement includes all payer lines of business, including commercial, exchange, Medicare and Medicaid.
7. A group of 24 federal lawmakers expressed concern Cigna's pharmaceutical benefit manager Express Scripts could be limiting Tricare beneficiaries' choice of pharmacies. In a letter to the director of the Defense Health Agency and the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, lawmakers accused Express Scripts of abusing its market position and asked the agency to provide information on its pharmacy network and the prices Express Scripts charges.
8. Texas fined Cigna $600,000 for failing to comply with multiple independent claims dispute resolution requirements under state law. The state required Cigna to develop and implement a corrective action plan by 2024, which it failed to do. Since then, Cigna said, "it has properly assigned resources to its IDR program" and will achieve full compliance by Aug. 15.
9. The Cigna Group promoted Jamie Kates to chief accounting officer.