- Underway today from 8:30 a.m. to 12
p.m. at the Newseum in Washington
- Speakers to include senators,
policymakers, veterans, substance experts
- Cigna CEO David Cordani to outline
company’s steps to address veterans’ issues
Cigna will outline steps to help curb the national opioid
epidemic among the veteran community in a half-day session today in
Washington, D.C. led by David M. Cordani, Cigna president and CEO,
with CQ Roll Call. The event will convene members of Congress and
national thought leaders to discuss current legislative efforts to
reshape the health care system and the impact this will have on
preventing drug misuse, with a focus on veterans’ issues. For more
information on speakers and agenda, and to watch the live stream of
the event, visit here.
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The Roll Call Live event will also feature a discussion about
findings from a recently completed study by The Economist
Intelligence Unit (EIU), sponsored by Cigna, which explores how
medical practitioners and the general public view the U.S. opioid
epidemic and their beliefs on what interventions work best for
treating the general population and the veteran community.
Speakers will include Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV); Rep. Tim
Murphy (D-PA); Rep. Ann Kuster (D-OH); Dr. Amy Kilbourne, Director
of Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI), U.S. Department
of Veteran Affairs; Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore City Health
Commissioner; Nan Whaley, Mayor of Dayton, Ohio; Allison Jaslow,
Executive Director, Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America
(IAVA); and Cynthia Reilly, Director, Substance Use Prevention and
Treatment Initiative, The Pew Charitable Trusts.
“Around this time last year, we said that Cigna would take a
first step in addressing the opioid epidemic with a commitment to
reducing opioid use among our customers by 25 percent by 2019,”
Cordani said. “Now, we are focusing on an important part of our
population: the veteran community. As a leading global health
service company, we have an obligation to discover ways to help
fill gaps in research, treatment and resources for those brave men
and women who have served and continue to serve our country.”
Steve Komarow, senior vice president and executive editor at CQ
News, added that “only five years ago, prescription opioid and
heroin abuse seemed like a limited issue, touching mostly
Appalachia or rural areas of New England. Now it’s a nationwide
problem that won’t go away any time soon, and it’s a priority for
just about every member of Congress.”
The issue is magnified within the veteran community. The number
of veterans living with opioid issues grew 55 percent between 2010
and 20151. Between higher rates of chronic pain2 and a 270 percent
spike in opioid prescriptions over a 12-year period3, veterans are
twice as likely to die from accidental opioid overdoses than
non-veterans4.
Today’s released EIU study found that majorities of both
practitioners and the general public say that treating veterans who
suffer from opioid addiction is more complex than treating others –
and more than a third of practitioners aren’t “very confident” they
have the right resources and training to treat veterans with opioid
use disorders. Sixty percent of practitioners say access to more
medical support staff with extensive experience in treating
veterans would help.
“We found from discussions with a variety of organizations that
support the veteran community that veterans often use the health
system the same way as everyone else,” added Cordani. “But the
reality is they have very different needs. We found they need
support to help them navigate the health system so that they get
the best care.”
To help veterans navigate the system, Cordani announced that the
Cigna Foundation awarded the Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of
America (IAVA) a grant of $100,000 a year for three years to help
expand IAVA’s Rapid Response Referral Program (RRRP). RRRP is
IAVA’s one-on-one case management and referral service program.
Since the program’s launch in late 2012, IAVA has helped more than
7,900 veterans and family members get on track to meeting their
goals through connections to quality resources and benefits. IAVA’s
Veteran Transition Managers understand transition challenges and
will work with individuals for as long as it takes to find
solutions. They’ve helped veterans use their new GI Bill to pursue
an education, find doctors and legal support, access emergency
housing and financial assistance, and more. Services are free and
confidential, and open to veterans of all eras and their
families.
The grant will help IAVA expand its programming in the eastern
seaboard of the United States, an area with a high concentration of
veterans, and will help those who need it most while examining the
quality of care in this region.
The Cigna Foundation is also awarding a $120,000 grant to the
USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military
Families, which will establish a dedicated support-center for
veterans pursuing a Master of Social Work at the University of
Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work.
Cigna said it is also working to add staff and training for
personal advocates who answer help lines operated by Cigna
Behavioral Health, and plans to open up those lines to veterans
needing counseling later this fall. The lines will be available to
veterans and their families, whether they are Cigna customers or
not.
For more information on Cigna’s leadership in addressing the
country’s opioid crisis, please visit here.
About Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America
Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America (www.IAVA.org) is the
leading post-9/11 veteran empowerment organization (VEO) with the
most diverse and rapidly growing membership in America. As a
non-profit founded in 2004, IAVA’s mission is to connect, unite and
empower post-9/11 veterans. Celebrating its 12th year anniversary,
IAVA has connected more than 1.2 million veterans with resources
and community, and provided more than 7,900 veterans with
personalized support from IAVA’s Master’s level social workers.
About USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans
& Military Families
The Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans &
Military Families (cir.usc.edu) is a global leader in promoting the
health and well-being of service members, veterans and military
families through research, education and collaboration that
encourages successful transitions to civilian life. The center is
housed within the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work,
the first research university to offer a large-scale military
social work program that prepares students to care for service
members, veterans and their families, helping them cope with the
stresses of military life.
About Cigna
Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI) is a global health service company
dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being and
sense of security. All products and services are provided
exclusively by or through operating subsidiaries of Cigna
Corporation, including Connecticut General Life Insurance Company,
Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, Life Insurance Company of
North America and Cigna Life Insurance Company of New York. 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 including
group life, accident and disability insurance. Cigna maintains
sales capability in 30 countries and jurisdictions, and has more
than 95 million customer relationships throughout the world. To
learn more about Cigna®, including links to follow us on Facebook
or Twitter, visit www.cigna.com.
1
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/veterans-face-greater-risks-amid-opioid-crisis/
2
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/veterans-face-greater-risks-amid-opioid-crisis/
3 http://cironline.org/node/5261
4
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/veterans-face-greater-risks-amid-opioid-crisis/
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Cigna CorporationGloria Barone,
215-761-4758Gloria.Barone@cigna.com
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