Cigna is looking to better link medical and supplemental benefits for its members, and has unveiled a new employer benefit that aims to further that goal.
The insurer's new Medical with Smart Coverage plans will be available as an option for employers with 500 to 2,999 employees that currently offer a high-deductible health plan. Cigna intends to expand access further in 2028, according to an announcement.
The plan is designed to offer members support in managing unexpectedly high costs should they occur. Enrollees can access up to $7,000 in supplemental cash benefits that they can use during these health events to cover key needs such as transportation, child care or hotel stays.
The plan is an industry first offering, according to the insurer.
Paul Virtell, president of supplemental health at Cigna Healthcare, told Fierce Healthcare that these plans offer key peace of mind for members in challenging health situations and are an underutilized tool for many.
"We’ve known that supplemental health is a tool that can be used to address affordability and it just made a lot of sense to combine medical and supplemental health more closely," he said. "We saw it as an opportunity to really connect benefits that are traditionally operating separately."
Within the connected plan, Cigna is rolling out the Simple File Sync Plus platform, which automatically matches qualifying medical claims to applicable supplemental benefits. Through this tool, patients need to go through fewer hoops to access cash payments and tap into benefits they may not be otherwise aware of.
Supporting this effort, Cigna released data from a joint study with Ipsos that finds nearly 60% of Americans feel they would not be financially ready for a substantial health event. In addition, 44% said they spent $1,000 or more following a diagnosis, but fewer than one-third knew that supplemental benefits could support needs like groceries and childcare during that time.
The data underscored the clear opportunity here to connect the experience between medical and supplemental, Virtell said. He added that even when they are on offer only between 20% and 25% of enrollees will choose supplemental coverage alongside their health plan.
Given that Cigna has both the supplemental plan and medical plan under one roof, Virtell said his team's goal is to "have the most medically centric supplemental health plan available." And as the new connected offering rolls out, the team is evaluating more ways to bring the medical and supplemental together.
He said that the Ipsos survey found 56% of respondents also believe that tying these benefits together will make it easier for them to access their benefits.
Virtell also said that the partnership goes beyond simply sharing claims and instead aims to create a fully connected experience.
"I think that’s really a unique aspect that really only a medical company like Cigna can deliver," he said.