Pandemic has forced the administration to revisit health policies and organizations to embrace transformation. Along with care delivery, the high healthcare cost remains a challenge for all. Cigna CEO David Cordani, in an interview with Yahoo Finance, has listed out three ways this can be done.
- Cordani said that beyond(administration’s effort) that the best way we(industry) could improve overall affordability is to do one of a few things either and these are –
A: Help to get more patients to the highest performing physicians.
B: Help to reduce health risks before they result in major health conditions that are more preventative, well-being service, and active management of a population. We do that from our collaborative relationships from that standpoint.
C: Incentivize alternative access to care either virtual or in the home. Those three dimensions have the ability to take a large percentage of costs out of an equation which is affordability. Giving an example, he further said. “ we(Cigna) have that lowest rate of medical cost growth in our industry today and that we told our investors that coming out between now and 2023 as we entered 2024, we expect to have a meaningful majority of our corporate clients and health plan clients in the US, experiencing a rate of cost growth that’s zero or less if we have our most innovative programs. So being able to tap into those innovative programs is the primary way of improving affordability always looking at through the lens of the customer or individual patient”. - He opined that pandemic has impacted many aspects of the healthcare industry. “So every aspect of what we do is, in some ways, changed in terms of how we interact and support our clients, customers, and patients. On the other hand, a lot of its still the same. It comes down to one person at a time supporting their individual wealth and well-being from the standpoint. So example of changes. One, we(Cigna) provided a lot more financial support back to corporate clients, health plan clients, physician partners during 2020 with a lot of dislocation, provided a lot more access support to individuals relative to covid related coverage. Another dimension of what’s changed is a massive accelerant in virtual care use and adoption. And as you may have seen, we took a further step forward, taking a long-standing partner with MD Live from a partnered relationship to an acquired opportunity for us. So, a pretty dynamic environment but one I am really proud of what we have been able to support our clients and customers through this past year.”
- There are factors he believes will affect the future of healthcare. ”One, pharmacological innovations represent the future of healthcare. The number of new drugs, be they specialty pharmaceuticals, gene therapies, biosimilars, et cetera, that pipeline will continue to grow. Second is the acceptance of mental health and physical health needing to be coordinated together. And third is the acceptance of a rapid evolution of new forms of care delivery, like virtual care, from that standpoint”.