From its Express Scripts business winning Centene's pharmacy benefit contract to facing a Justice Department lawsuit, here are nine stories about Cigna that Becker's has reported since Oct. 17:
1. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Cigna on Oct. 17 alleging the payer is making its Medicare Advantage members appear sicker than they are by submitting false diagnosis codes to CMS to receive higher reimbursement rates.
2. Centene said Oct. 25 it has awarded its PBM contract to Cigna's Express Scripts. Starting in 2024, Express Scripts will manage prescriptions for Centene's 20 million plan members.
3. Cigna unveiled a new "vitality index" Oct. 26 designed to measure multiple areas of population mental and physical health. The payer surveyed 10,000 American adults on a wide variety of measures of physical and mental well-being to get a baseline measure of vitality levels.
4. A survey from Cigna found that 97 percent of young adults are burned out. The survey, published Oct. 27, surveyed nearly 12,000 people ages 18 to 34 in 15 countries.
5. Cigna Ventures, the payer's venture capital arm, participated in a $44.5 million growth equity round for virtual mental health company Valera Health.
6. Cigna has the seventh-largest share of the country's Medicare Advantage market, according to a Nov. 1 study from the American Medical Association. Cigna is also the fourth-largest health insurer by national-level commercial market share, according to the same report.
7. Cigna raised its annual earnings outlook and reported a 70 percent boost in third-quarter profits compared to the same period last year, according to the company's earnings report published Nov. 3.
8. Cigna is spending $200 million to integrate Express Scripts as Centene's new PBM for 20 million members starting in 2024. Company executives told investors Nov. 3 the set up costs will cut into 2023 earnings, but will have a "neutral to a small positive contribution" by 2024.
9. Cigna CEO David Cordani addressed questions from investors Nov. 3 over concerns the company is falling behind other insurers by not recently pursuing major mergers or acquisitions.