America's Benefit Specialist November 2022

PRODUCT NEWS

The Cigna Pathwell suite of solutions is available to many U.S. commercial cli ents, and its availability will be expanded throughout 2023. The suite will continue to evolve based on this flexible blueprint for innovation to support the needs of health plans and patients navigating a range of complex health conditions. PARTNERSHIP CREATES DENTAL VISION BUNDLE OFFERING FOR EMPLOYERS A new partnership with VSP Vision Care now gives employers doing business with United Concordia Dental the chance to further promote employee overall health and well-being by bundling dental and vision plans. With five new vision offerings that cover eye exams, frames, lenses and contacts at varying levels, United Concordia’s new product, UC ClearVision, gives employers and employees more choice when it comes to selecting coverage that meets their specific needs. UC ClearVision currently is available to employers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington DC. United Concordia’s vision rider, UCVision, is still an available option for employers, with all members receiving the vision benefit as part of their dental plan where available. For more information, visit www.United Concordia.com. MGIS AND SUN LIFE TO PROVIDE INCOME-PROTECTION PRODUCTS TO VETERINARIAN GROUPS MGIS, a national insurance program manager, and Sun Life have announced that group disability insurance programs managed by MGIS will expand to include veterinarian groups. “According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, the starting salary for

Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Tennessee, will be issued by Pan-American Life Insur ance Company and administered by Admin istrative Concepts, Inc., an organization with extensive experience in fully insured and self-insured employer benefit plans. For more information and how to request a quote, contact Michael Clarke at 302-690 8059 or mclarke@palig.com. CIGNA TRANSFORMS CARE EXPERIENCE FOR PATIENTS WITH COMPLEX CONDITIONS Cigna has unveiled Cigna Pathwell, a suite of products that connects customers with quality care providers to help improve health outcomes and lower costs for cus tomers, their families and their employers. Cigna Pathwell harnesses the analytics, clinical expertise, treatment planning and personalized digital solutions within Ever north, Cigna’s health services business, and integrates them with Cigna’s medical bene fits management and provider networks to create a comprehensive and personalized care experience for patients living with high-cost health conditions. “Our clients and customers are exhausted by the fragmented healthcare system. They want one place to go to get a personal ized experience for their entire healthcare journey,” said Heather Dlugolenski, senior vice president, U.S. solutions, Cigna. “Cigna Pathwell connects customers with the providers and therapies that are best suited to their unique health conditions and— through our data and expertise—can help anticipate their future needs to help them recover faster. For employers, Cigna Path well means lower costs, less time communi cating between different tools, and stream lined benefits management for high-cost, intensive conditions, so they can focus more of their time on what matters most: their business and their workforce.” Cigna Pathwell Specialty works within the medical and pharmacy benefits to coordi nate and drive down the cost of care, both for patients who need infusions or injectable medicines and for their health plans.

Patients in enrolled plans receive concierge service from Pathwell Special ty’s dedicated care-management team to connect them to convenient, quality, and affordable options for infusion therapies through Cigna’s national Pathwell network of quality providers. The patient’s treating physician continues to oversee their care, and the patient can receive infusions from participating hospitals, infusion centers, physicians’ offices or, in some cases, at home. Alternatively, treating providers can order specialty infused or injected medica tions directly through a specialty pharmacy in the Cigna Pathwell Specialty network. Over time, Cigna Pathwell Specialty will expand to include additional care ser vices to support patients using infused or injected therapies throughout their health journey, including behavioral, wellness and nutritional services, and virtual visits with doctors. It will also include support and resources for patients’ caregivers through the Cigna Caregiver Bridge Program. A recent study from the Evernorth Research Institute found that nearly one in four people seek care for “wear and tear” musculoskeletal conditions such as strains and sprains, and that these conditions drive significantly higher healthcare spending— accounting for nearly two-thirds of all mus culoskeletal care utilization and spend. Pathwell Bone & Joint combines Cigna’s national network of providers, personalized benefit designs, programs with whole-per son support, access to behavioral health care, and physical therapy (digitally or in-person). Cigna’s capabilities, combined with Evernorth’s digital navigation tools and advanced predictive analytics that can anticipate a surgery up to a year in advance, create a holistic, integrated musculoskeletal solution that will improve health outcomes while reducing unnecessary surgeries that can lead to increased costs. If surgery is nec essary, Cigna’s benefit provides support with low or zero cost for surgery from admission through discharge. The Evernorth study also found that musculoskeletal spend can be re duced up to 40% with appropriate interven tions and better-coordinated care—which is what Pathwell is designed to provide.

22 ABS | benefitspecialistmagazine.com