Cigna Group said it will tie its executives' pay to customer satisfaction in a move that follows an outcry against the insurance industry over denials of care. The change is the start of what Cigna called a yearslong effort to improve customers' experience and "ensure accountability," the company said in a statement Monday. Health insurers are responding to widespread anger at the industry following the December shooting of a UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive. Insurers have long defended their practices, but some companies have recently shifted toward acknowledging problems in the healthcare system.
Centene beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by strength in its commercial health insurance plans. Enrollments in private plans for individuals and families have risen, while the company saw a drop in memberships in Medicaid plans for lower-income groups after the end of a pandemic-era federal policy that offered protection to a wider section of the society.
A Kaiser Family Foundation study found 18% of adults say they've had a claim denial in the last year. A new patient coalition has formed in Texas to fight for patients. The Texas Coalition for Patients is a coalition of patients, physicians and providers, advocating to bring greater accountability to health insurance.
Direct primary care is an increasingly popular health care option, and experts say it may become more common under health policy changes that President Donald Trump's administration is expected to pursue. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, mentioned direct primary care during his recent confirmation hearings.
In recent years, the annual cost of maintaining long-term care plans has skyrocketed, creating a system that continues to strangle its customers as they wrestle with canceling coverage or paying ever higher premiums. And the price of new plans for people who want to sign up is out of reach for many.
The Cigna Group announced a new multi-year effort to improve accountability, transparency and customer support in the wake of public anger at the health insurance industry following the December 4 UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting. Cigna's announcement Monday to launch 'actions to drive positive change for customers and patients' comes just days after CEO David Cordani addressed analysts and investors on the industry's need to provide customers with more support and resources to navigate the healthcare system.