Cigna launched a virtual-first plan for choose employers on Tuesday, with its new providing following the latest bulletins of different main insurers and coming simply in time for open enrollment.
Like UnitedHealth Group, Aetna and Centene, Cigna’s new virtual-first plan provides a $0 copay, and can begin in January 2022. Cigna will supply virtual-first main, dermatology, behavioral and pressing care companies for employers, and digital dermatology to its trade members. Though the brand new virtual-first plan will solely be out there for sure employers, all enterprise prospects can have entry to MDLive’s community of greater than 2,500 digital clinicians for wellness and behavioral well being checks, prescription refills and emergency care.
The corporate constructed the brand new plan on the MDLive platform and the startup’s physicians will be part of Cigna’s group of collaborative care suppliers. Cigna paid an undisclosed sum to acquire MDLive in February, and folded the corporate into its Evernorth well being companies division.
The insurer will initially goal giant, self-insured employer-sponsored plans for its new virtual-first providing, though finally plans to broaden availability to smaller companies and fully-insured prospects.
Eighty-five p.c of Cigna’s industrial prospects are self-funded employers and the insurer already depends on MDLive to energy a number of the telehealth visits for these prospects.
Along with offering the virtual-first infrastructure, Cigna is leaning on MDLive to beef up its main care apply and reduce wait occasions for sufferers. The insurer stated that greater than 75% of members who had an MDLive digital wellness screening in 2020 didn’t have a main care supplier and two-thirds recognized a brand new well being situation throughout their digital go to.
By growing entry and shifting the price of care to lower-cost settings, Cigna goals to save lots of on well being prices for itself and its members, whereas providing a extra customized care expertise.
“With MDLIVE now a part of Evernorth, we have fast-tracked our capability to supply a broader suite of differentiated, future-state care options that make the affected person expertise simpler and extra handy,” Eric Palmer, president of Evernorth, stated in a information launch. “At present’s announcement represents a big step ahead for thousands and thousands of well being plan prospects who will acquire on-demand entry to a wider vary of highly-specialized, in-network well being care professionals.”
The information builds on MDLive’s current digital main care companies, which it launched as an initiative for well being plans and employers in 2020. That 12 months, MDLive’s whole membership grew 57% and the corporate recorded an 84% improve within the variety of visits throughout its supplier community.
The startup has raised almost $199 million in funding, with the insurer’s enterprise arm serving as a number one investor.
It isn’t the one telehealth firm that has raised enterprise funding just lately.
Through the first three quarters of 2021, telehealth startups generated $6.6 billion in enterprise funds, in response to Digital Health Business & Technology.
