- Goal to reduce opioid overdoses by 25
percent among its customers in targeted communities by year-end
2021
- Community-based approach aims to
improve access to care and resources for chronic pain and
addiction
- Continues collaboration with doctors
and other prescribers to further reduce opioid misuse
Global health service company Cigna (NYSE:CI) is intensifying
its commitment to curtail the opioid epidemic by focusing new drug
prevention and treatment efforts in targeted U.S. communities. The
company will collaborate with employers, customers, prescribing
clinicians, pharmacists and community-based organizations to reduce
the number of opioid overdoses by 25 percent among its commercial
customers in these communities by December 2021.
Initially, Cigna will focus its local efforts in areas where a
sizable number of Cigna commercial customers reside and where there
are higher than average overdose rates, including communities in
the states of Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia and in
the metropolitan areas of Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and
Washington, D.C. The goal is to reduce prescription and illicit
opioid overdoses in these areas, and Cigna will advance initiatives
that impact both Cigna customers and the communities at large. To
support this initiative, Cigna and the Cigna Foundation will expand
and accelerate the impact of community-based organizations that are
leading localized programs. Cigna intends to learn from initial
efforts during the three year time period and expand to other
communities over time.
Nationally, in 2016, nearly 64,000 people died of drug overdoses
across the United States and approximately two-thirds of these
deaths were linked to opioids1. Opioids were linked to one in 65 of
all U.S. deaths in 2016, and one in five deaths or 20% of all
deaths for adults ages 25-341. A new study based on U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows opioid-related
deaths between 2001 and 2016 increased 345% and resulted in
approximately 1.68 million person-years of life lost in 2016
alone2.
“Behind every number, there are real people struggling along
with families, employers and communities,” said David M. Cordani,
Cigna President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our commitment to
reduce drug overdoses by 25 percent is a commitment to each and
every one of them, and we look forward to working closely with our
partners to meet it.”
Employer-sponsored insurance covers nearly four in ten
non-elderly adults with opioid addiction, and the costs of treating
opioid and other drug addiction and overdose are significant,
rising to more than $2.6 billion in 2016 from $0.3 billion 12 years
earlier, a nearly nine-fold increase3. Cigna partners with
employers to make health plan benefit design decisions including,
integrating medical, pharmacy and behavioral benefits and offering
dedicated programs that help prevent prescription drug misuse and
help people struggling with addiction.
Cigna has expanded an existing program that uses predictive
analytics to identify customers who are most likely to suffer from
an opioid overdose and prompts interventions to help prevent the
overdose from happening.
In addition to continuing national efforts to address the opioid
epidemic, the company will partner locally to develop immediate and
long-term approaches that make it easier for people to access
treatment for substance use disorders. Examples include
medication-assisted treatment (MAT), comprehensive pain management
and enhanced support and counseling, and making naloxone more
readily available for treatment of an overdose. The company will
also continue to reinforce safe prescribing guidelines, and will
encourage a coordinated pharmacy care approach that includes care
providers and community pharmacists.
In March 2018, Cigna announced a 25 percent reduction in
prescription opioid use among its commercial customers achieved in
collaboration with more than 1.1 million prescribing clinicians.
However, Cigna claims data shows that despite a reduction in the
number of prescriptions, opioid overdoses continue to rise. This is
consistent with CDC data showing a continued increase in overdose
deaths due to opioids and other substances in 2016 and provisional
CDC data which shows the trend continued in 2017.
“The continued increase in people suffering from overdoses is
alarming, and immediate action is needed to help disrupt this
trend,” said Doug Nemecek, M.D., Chief Medical Officer for
Behavioral Health at Cigna. “We know we can’t do it alone and are
collaborating with partners on local efforts to curb this
preventable disease by improving care for people with chronic pain
and substance use disorders.”
To track against the goal of reducing overdoses by 25 percent,
Cigna will measure claims submitted with an opioid overdose
diagnosis code. The company will also continue to measure the total
volume of opioids being prescribed based on morphine milligram
equivalent doses, taking into account the number of pills and the
dosing of those pills, as well as the relative strengths of opioid
medications. Cigna will also continue to ask provider groups to
sign a pledge to reduce opioid prescribing and to treat opioid use
disorder as a chronic condition. To date, more than 9,000 provider
groups and more than 130,000 prescribing clinicians have signed the
Cigna opioid pledge, which dovetails with the U.S. Surgeon
General’s “Turn the Tide” pledge and the
CDC’s opioid prescribing guidelines.
In May 2018, the company initiated a consumer-focused awareness
campaign to advance the concept of a “pain plan” and encourage
conversations among individuals and health care providers about the
safe use of opioids and other pain management options. As part of
this campaign, Cigna's dedicated pain resource hub provides
educational material and resources about pain, how it manifests,
how it’s treated and how to manage it safely.
For more information on Cigna’s efforts to fight the opioid
epidemic, please visit
https://www.cigna.com/about-us/healthcare-leadership/away-from-blame.
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 Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company,
Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, Life Insurance Company
of North America, Cigna Life Insurance Company of New York, 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 including group life, accident and disability insurance.
Cigna maintains sales capability in over 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.
For more information about Cigna's proposed acquisition of Express
Scripts, please visit www.advancinghealthcare.com.
1 Seth P, Scholl L, Rudd RA, Bacon S. Overdose Deaths Involving
Opioids, Cocaine, and Psychostimulants — United States, 2015–2016.
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2018;67:349–358. DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6712a1
2 Gomes T, Tadrous M, Mamdani MM, Paterson JM, Juurlink DN. The
Burden of Opioid-Related Mortality in the United States. JAMA
Network Open. 2018;1(2):e180217.
doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.0217. Available at
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2682878
3 Cox C, Rae, M, Sawyer, B. A look at how the opioid crisis has
affected people with employer coverage. Kaiser Family Foundation.
April 5, 2018. Available at
https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/a-look-at-how-the-opioid-crisis-has-affected-people-with-employer-coverage/
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180621005537/en/
Cigna CorporationEllie Polack,
860-902-4906elinor.polack@cigna.com
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