BLOOMFIELD, Conn. – CIGNA (NYSE:CI) today announced two new enhancements to its online Prescription Drug Price Quote tool that will make it even easier for members to save money on their prescriptions. Now by using the myCIGNA.com personal Website, eligible CIGNA Pharmacy Management ® members can get electronic generic prescription discount coupons. They can also get real-time, side-by-side price comparisons of drug costs from three local pharmacies at a time, as well as from the CIGNA Tel-Drug ® Home Delivery Pharmacy.
“ These additions are part of our ongoing efforts to give members the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their health care, ” said Thom Stambaugh, RPH, CIGNA's chief pharmacy officer. “ By making the information easier to use and more complete, we believe that even more members will decide to save money by converting to generic medications. ”
Using the myCIGNA.com pharmacy Web page, members in self-funded plans that participate in CIGNA's Save with Generics program can download a coupon for a reduced co-payment on their first fill of various generic medications. Stambaugh said that CIGNA Pharmacy Management already has one of the highest generic utilization rates in the industry.
By implementing many of CIGNA Pharmacy Management ’ s Save with Generics programs, Loral Space and Communications of New York achieved a 74% generic conversion rate, resulting in a 6.6% reduction in their drug trend in 2007. “ In the past, our employees were only mailed coupons, which they may not have been able to find when they went to re-fill their prescription, so there was a lost opportunity to save, ” said director of benefits Mandy Capogrossi. “ We believe the ability to access online coupons when people need them will make it easier for our employees and lead to even greater savings for them and for the company. ”
Gordon Furlong of Munich Re America, a reinsurance company whose parent company is headquartered in Germany said, “ We appreciate the ability to offer incentives, such as these online coupons, that encourage our employees to try less expensive generic medications. ” As Furlong pointed out, it leaves the choice up to the employees, but encourages them to save money for both the employee and for the company, so everyone benefits. “ It ’ s not often you can find a win-win situation in employee benefits, ” he said.
Unlike many other online pharmacy tools, CIGNA ’ s Prescription Drug Price Quote tool enables members to compare – based on the specifics of their own benefit plan -- real-time pricing for brand name medications, available generics and low-cost therapeutically equivalent drug alternatives at their local pharmacies and at the CIGNA Tel-Drug Home Delivery Pharmacy. Members can view costs in a side-by-side format that highlights savings opportunities and applies co-payments, co-insurance, deductibles, plan maximums and specific drug coverage based on the member ’ s specific benefit plan.
In addition, members may download and print a report that includes the results of their price search, a CIGNA Tel-Drug Home Delivery order form, and helpful hints and questions they can use when speaking with their physician about their condition or medications. This report is in addition to “ Perspectives, ” a member-specific feature which customizes information to the member ’ s medication search and provides targeted health messages. “ Perspectives ” messaging provides links that highlight clinical information as well as tips regarding generic and therapeutic alternatives.
To improve the member experience, the Web tool is easy to use and includes such features as Google mapping to find a local pharmacy. The additions to the price quote comparison tool are the latest in an arsenal of tools on myCIGNA.com that enable CIGNA Pharmacy Management members to better understand their drug treatment options and have more informed discussions with their physicians about medications and their associated costs.
The enhancements also reflect CIGNA's commitment to help members choose quality and cost effective health care options. All 23 of the CIGNA HealthCare HMO and POS plans that have undergone NCQA accreditation review, hold Excellent Accreditation status. All have earned Distinction for NCQA's Quality Plus Member Connections and Physician and Hospital Quality standards. The Member Connections standards assess a plan's Web-based and telephonic consumer decision support tools. The Physician and Hospital Quality standards assess how well a plan provides members with information about physicians and hospitals in its network to help consumers make informed health care decisions.
About CIGNA Pharmacy Management:
CIGNA Pharmacy Management employs a consultative approach to help plan sponsors design pharmacy benefit plans that achieve lower net costs while providing industry-leading pharmacy clinical programs to help improve the health outcomes of their members. “ CIGNA, ” “ CIGNA Pharmacy Management, ” “ CIGNA Tel-Drug ” and the “ Tree of Life ” logo are registered service marks of CIGNA Intellectual Property, Inc., licensed for use by CIGNA Corporation and its operating subsidiaries. All products and services are provided exclusively by such operating subsidiaries and not by CIGNA Corporation. Such operating subsidiaries include Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, Tel-Drug, Inc., Tel-Drug of Pennsylvania, L.L.C., and HMO or service company subsidiaries of CIGNA Health Corporation.
