Cigna has established a private retail health care service exchange. Cigna's private exchange is currently available to smaller employers in Atlanta, Dallas, the Washington, D.C. metro area, and San Francisco, and will be expanded to other markets and larger employer groups throughout 2014.
“Cigna's goal is to offer a full range of plan choices to employers, and employees and their families as they become more actively involved in their health and benefit choices,” said Dave Guilmette, the president of the global employer segment for Cigna.
With Cigna's new offering, employees have access to “health care benefit plan decision support tools” to shop for and enroll in the plans that best meet their unique needs. For employers, the company said, the exchange offers a benefits administration platform that allows them to provide their employees with a broader choice of plan options, while simplifying employers' administrative responsibilities and controlling benefit costs. The suite of products available to employees includes medical, pharmacy, dental, vision, life/accident, and disability plans.
“Entering into the private exchange marketplace extends Cigna's strategy to give our customers more options to select a plan that meets their needs, including fully integrated products and services designed to improve their health and get the most from their health care dollars,” said Mr. Guilmette.
In addition, Cigna said that it is actively participating in a number of private exchanges administered by benefit consultants and brokerage firms that target active employees (including fully insured and self-insured models), and retirees.
Learn more: www.cigna.com.
Victoria Spears
Victoria Prussen Spears is senior vice president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Spears was an attorney at a leading New York City law firm before joining Meyerowitz Communications. She may be contacted at [email protected].