Cigna, Cordani Family Foundation team up on mobile health-screening initiative

Cigna and its CEO are taking their efforts to drive down healthcare costs on the road.

The Cordani Family Foundation, Cigna and the Cigna Foundation have announced a new health tour that will provide screenings to measure blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and body mass index, along with health coaching on how to improve these numbers. These metrics "underlie the majority of health costs" and identify risks for major chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, the announcement notes.

The mobile clinics will be free of charge. The "Go. Know. Take Control" tour is slated to kick off in Phoenix at the end of this month and will run through the rest of the year, according to the announcement. The Cordani Family Foundation is donating funds to help bring the screenings to universities and underserved communities

The initiative expands on Cigna’s recent advertising campaign, in which TV doctors encouraged people to get their annual check-ups. “If people would just get preventive care,” that could save 100,000 lives a year, Cigna Global Branding Officer Stephen Cassell said in an exclusive interview with FierceHealthPayer.

 

Related: Through ‘TV doctors’ ad, Cigna promotes a real social message about preventive care


“This message is so important that hopefully this is beneficial beyond Cigna,” Cassell added.

Identifying chronic and acute conditions at an early, treatable stage helps consumers get healthier and save money, according to the announcement detailing Cigna's new initiative.  “All healthcare is local and personal, and this is a great way to help consumers where they work, play and live,” Cigna CEO David Cordani said.

Meanwhile, Cigna reached an agreement last week with the New York Attorney General’s office to end prior authorization rules for opioid withdrawal medication, a move it says will ease access to such treatments.