2 min read September 2023 — The top priorities for Cigna Healthcare are affordability, predictability and making its services as simple as possible, according to Gene Dours, vice president of client management for North Texas and Oklahoma. “The next three to four years are going to be focused on building upon those values,” he told Invest:.
What is Cigna’s approach to healthcare in North Texas?
We are prioritizing value-based care rather than volume, which means working with our providers as we build upon our relationship with the healthcare community. We are moving away from our clients only paying on a fee-for-service basis and we have spent a lot of time looking at the social needs we can address. Here in North Texas, we have partnered with multiple Collaborative Care Provider Organizations who are working directly with providing our community with care. These relationships are well established because we realize that the most important thing that we can do as an insurance company is make sure that people are able to access the care they need, and that our Provider Partners have relevant information to act upon in a timely fashion. We update these partners on a weekly or monthly basis. This means that the next time that the patient attends one of our Collaborative Care doctor’s offices, they have access to the right information. As a result, we’re making sure that the healthcare community is at the forefront of treatments.
What are some of the current trends that you’re observing in healthcare?
There are a couple of things that are truly driving healthcare. The first of these is the acceleration of pharmaceutical innovations. In particular, the specialty pharmacy trend exploded with the advent of specialty drugs. New drugs are being introduced on the market and those routinely could cost between $1 million and $3 million. But, more money is being invested in the lower-cost options, with one popular drug having seven biosimilars due for release in the next 24 months. These biosimilars will be provided at a much lower cost. Treatments, even specialty drugs, are also becoming much more accessible. For example, cancer treatment infusions can now be performed in a range of locations, including in the hospital, in the outpatient setting, in a physician’s office or even at home.
In what ways is technology changing healthcare?
One major change has been in the adoption of virtual care. As we went into COVID, there was much more demand for virtual access to healthcare providers, but now some doctors want individuals to get back into the brick-and-mortar buildings. Once an exception, we are finding that there’s been an explosion in demand of virtual providers for behavioral health. As a result, we have had to expand and add partnerships with companies like MDLive, Ginger and Talkspace. To help our customers navigate which of these services are right for them, we have built interfaces that help guide access to these remote services.
What is your strategy to increase preventive care?
A focus is on ensuring individuals have the right incentive to seek out healthcare. This can be done in a number of ways, including through credits or gift cards to access important care options like preventive care. We can also do this by offering virtual access to care because sometimes there are unseen barriers to attending an in-person doctor’s appointment. We also have coaching programs. Each patient is different, and we need to look at treatment on a holistic basis. Instead of just addressing the health issue that is present in the moment, we need to work to address the underlying issues that have developed through the years.
What is your outlook for Cigna and your top priorities over the next few years?
Our top priorities have always been providing affordability, providing predictability, and making services as simple as possible to access. The next three to four years are going to be focused on building upon those values. We will be working with the provider community to make sure that we’re being cost-conscious, not only to meet some of their needs but to meet the needs of our clients. We’ll also be working with pharmacies and directly with the drug companies as we look at some of those innovations, particularly around some of the specialty drugs. Finally, we’ll try to make all this simple, so that our communities have easy access to all the healthcare options.
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