Cigna's Engagement Programs Improve Health and Lower Costs by 10 Percent
October 29 2019 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
Three-year study shows offering incentives
increases engagement, improves health outcomes and lower total
medical costs
A new study released today shows that Cigna’s health engagement
incentive programs improve health outcomes and lower total medical
costs an average of 10 percent. These findings are based on the
results of a three-year study of more than 210,000 customers
enrolled in 28 employer-sponsored plans. For customers living with
two or more chronic conditions, like heart disease and diabetes,
the total medical cost savings were even greater – an average of 13
percent.
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Cigna Health Engagement Incentive Study
(Graphic: Business Wire)
“At Cigna, we are always looking for better and more effective
ways to help our customers make better and more informed choices
about their health and healthcare,” said Joan Harvey, senior vice
president, consumer health engagement at Cigna. “By putting the
customer at the center of all we do, and surrounding them with
supportive, on-demand tools and resources to help them achieve
their well-being goals, we’re able to deepen our customers’
engagement and keep them motivated over time, while improving their
health and reducing costs.”
The study sought to understand the impact of financial
incentives in motivating individuals to take actions that would
benefit their overall health. The analysis compared
Cigna-administered health plans that offered financial incentives
with their health engagement programs to plans that offered
engagement programs without incentives.
Delivering Better Health Outcomes
In addition to reduced total medical costs for the employer,
Cigna customers with access to health engagement incentive programs
demonstrated increased involvement in their health. For example,
the study observed that customers were:
- Twice as likely to set a health coaching goal;
- Twice as likely to achieve a health coaching goal; and
- 30 percent more likely to complete their biometric
screening.
Customers also demonstrated improved health outcomes across
biometric indicators, including:
- Six times more likely to meet the body mass index (BMI) target
of <30 kg/m2
- Five times more likely to meet the blood pressure target of
<90/140 mmHg
- 45 percent more likely to meet the cholesterol target of
<240 mg/dL
- 30 percent more likely to meet the blood glucose target of
<100 mg/dL (fasting) or 140 mg/dL (random)
“Our analysis provides a clear understanding of the power of
health engagement incentive programs in motivating people to
prioritize and take control of their total health,” said Julie
McCarter, vice president, product solutions at Cigna. “Whether its
digital health tools, onsite health services or support for
everyday life stressors, Cigna is developing innovative solutions
to help customers wherever they are in their personal health
journey.”
Health Engagement Programs: A Critical Component of Chronic
Disease Prevention
Chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes are
leading drivers of health care costs in the U.S. and are often
influenced by lifestyle choices such as smoking, unhealthy eating,
lack of physical activity and alcohol use.1 In the U.S.,
smoking-related illness costs exceed $300 billion each year,2 low
levels of physical activity are associated with $117 billion in
annual health care costs 3 and fewer than one in 10 adults and
adolescents eat enough fruits and vegetables.4
Cigna's health engagement experts provide data-driven,
personalized insights to design effective health engagement
solutions for employers. Tailored programs bring together biometric
screenings to set health goals, financial incentives to drive
engagement and trained coaches available to support body and mind
health. The company’s unique approach, Life Connected(SM), examines
motivation and engagement through five connected dimensions of
well-being: physical, emotional, financial, environmental and
social to help employers support a healthy and productive
workforce.
The Cigna study demonstrates the impact of incentives to drive
health engagement. Customers earn financial rewards by completing
activities such as a preventive exam with their primary care
physician or working with a coach to set and achieve health goals.
An example included in this study is an employer that offers $500
in premium contribution for meeting a Body Mass Index goal of 30 or
less and a total cholesterol level of less than 240.
About the Study
Cigna’s Health Engagement Incentive study evaluated the
behaviors and health outcomes of more than 210,000 customers across
28 large employer clients from 2015-2017. The analysis compared
employers who offered Cigna health engagement with MotivateMe®
incentives versus health engagement programs without incentives.
Employers were controlled for similar industries and employee
populations. All whole-person health engagement programs leveraged
the Life Connected approach and included biometric screening and
health coaching.
About Cigna
Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI) is a global health service company
dedicated to improving the health, well-being and peace of mind of
those we serve. Cigna delivers choice, predictability,
affordability and access to quality care through integrated
capabilities and connected, personalized solutions that advance
whole person health. All products and services are provided
exclusively by or through operating subsidiaries of Cigna
Corporation, including Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company,
Cigna Life Insurance Company of New York, Connecticut General Life
Insurance Company, Express Scripts companies or their affiliates,
and Life Insurance Company of North America. 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 165 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 https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/about/index.htm 2
https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/factsheets/tobacco.htm
3
https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/factsheets/physical-activity.htm
4
https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/factsheets/nutrition.htm
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Jennifer Luddy 201-269-6402
jennifer_luddy@express-scripts.com
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