Practice Management
Cigna has announced that it will no longer cover prescriptions for the opioid medication OxyContin, and is recommending that patients who take it confer with their doctors to find an alternate pain drug. Cigna will, however, cover the alternative opioid drug Xtampza ER. The company says the move is in line with its “focus on helping customers get the most value from their medications”—which in this case extends to “obtaining effective pain relief while also …
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Cigna is collaborating with CVS Health to push members into retail clinics instead of visiting urgent care centers when they have immediate, nonemergent medical needs. The company claims that around 45% of urgent care visits could be handled in drugstore clinics—at a savings of 81% per visit for Cigna. The problem? Cigna’s data highlight the minority of patients seeking care. The majority (55%) could not be treated sufficiently in the retail setting, meaning they’d end …
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Urgent care operators are watching with interest as Anthem and Cigna Corp. prepare to fight for their proposed $53 billion merger. The U.S. Justice Department has already expressed concerns about the deal moving forward, claiming that federal and state regulators complain consummation would reduce competition, leading to higher prices and lower levels of service. For their part, Anthem insists the proposed massive new company would be in a better bargaining position to negotiate deals with …
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Like many insurers, Anthem says it’s had a hard time operating profitably in exchanges under the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or “Obamacare”). Unlike many insurers, it has stuck with its participation despite those woes. If the situation doesn’t improve, though, Anthem says it will probably switch gears and reconsider its offerings for 2018. The company, whose proposed merger with Cigna faces an antitrust challenge by the Justice Department, also says it would issue a request …
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