New Preventive Prescription Drug Plan Options Promote Medication Compliance

This July, CIGNA Pharmacy Management (CPM) will launch new preventive prescription drug plan options designed to promote medication compliance by providing a higher level of benefits’ coverage to members who need certain medications to prevent illness or address specified chronic health care conditions.

"CIGNA's integrated approach connects benefit design with proactive and clinically based support to offer employers a powerful ally in the effort to improve medication compliance and the health of their employees," explains Dr. Glenn Pomerantz, consumerism medical officer for CIGNA HealthCare. "This is a significant first step in a new generation of differentiated benefit designs that focus on helping consumers with chronic conditions better manage their health and provide benefit incentives for them to do so."

One option allows employers to waive the plan deductible for more than 700 standardly covered preventive prescription drugs. Members would be covered for these medications according to the coinsurance or copayment requirement of the pharmacy plan, without first having to satisfy a plan deductible. Employers will also have the option to purchase additional coverage to include medications for tobacco cessation, weight loss and nutritional deficiency.

A second option allows plan sponsors offering CIGNA Choice Fund^® consumer-driven plans to provide this higher level of coverage as an incentive to encourage members with diabetes, cardiac conditions or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to actively participate in a disease management program offered as part of the employer's health plan.

"Preventive drug benefit designs will raise consumer awareness and highlight the importance of using needed preventive medications," said Thom Stambaugh, chief pharmacy officer for CPM. "The new benefit options will also help members maximize CIGNA's highly regarded medical and pharmacy clinical programs, which help to improve health and reduce costs for both our members and for employers."

According to Dr. Pomerantz, the new preventive medication benefit options will be integrated with the CIGNA Well Aware for Better Health^® member-focused disease management programs and CPM's provider-focused Pharmacy Outcome Improvement programs. These complementary programs recognize that a holistic approach can best address the many aspects of an individual's health needs to help deliver personalized coaching to individuals and outreach to physicians to improve a member's health.