2 min read January 2023 — Yesenia Sanchez is the general manager of South Florida and the Caribbean for Cigna. She sat down with Invest: to discuss the determinants of how healthcare will be delivered in the future, the role of insurance in making that happen and how South Florida’s evolution is affecting the healthcare industry.
How is inflation affecting Cigna and how are you addressing affordability?
Our priority is to keep healthcare affordable, predictable and simple for our clients and customers. That’s the best way for us to address employer concerns about the rising costs of healthcare for their employees. We take a consultative approach that allows us to address the needs of employers of all sizes, from those with 50 employees to those with 50,000. We have to make healthcare affordable for all employee group sizes. We want to create affordable options employers can track and that help them recruit and retain talent, and partner with them to create a healthy workforce to help drive business success. It takes a coordinated approach to keep employees healthy and costs down. Having a strong network of healthcare professionals to provide quality care for our customers is equally important.
In the past year, we have developed specific programs to address the rising costs of vital medications. One example is our Patient Assurance program; when you think of diabetes and how much it costs people to stay healthy, this program serves as a tool to help control the costs those members have to take on. We don’t want cost to be prohibitive when receiving care. We are working on transforming healthcare from being an expense to being an investment, so members and business partners truly thrive and grow. Ultimately, we want our members to stay healthy, body and mind
How would you say the past few years’ events have changed employer priorities when it comes to healthcare benefits?
Things have changed in a lot of ways. One has been the increase in demand for virtual care, which will continue to gain ground going forward. Cigna acquired MDLive to greatly expand our virtual care network to provide options to our members with more virtual options – especially in mental health where demand has increased exponentially since the start of the pandemic. In the employer base, we have seen a big change in what occurs in staffing. Human resources roles are changing in response to added stresses by the pandemic, so as a health service organization we have added consultative approaches to help with this. At the end of the day, employers are looking for ways to control healthcare costs, and we are constantly innovating and finding solutions to help with the evolution of healthcare.
With inclusivity being a pillar at Cigna, how are you closing gaps in access to healthcare?
Diversity, equity and inclusion is a huge focus for Cigna and has been at our core for years. We had a Health Disparity Council before it was a catchphrase to meet the health equity needs of our diverse market. Here in South Florida, we utilize collaborative accountable care (CACs), a highly efficient provider group that members are aligned with to best meet their specific needs around language, culture, health disparities and more. This has an impact on health equity by addressing how our providers deliver care at all levels, and have an understanding of real-life social challenges their patients may face in transportation, financial and food insecurity, health literacy and more. We work with CACs on health literacy that goes both ways; for example, in ensuring providers understand the different languages and dialects of patients in their community. The word “intoxicado” can mean a patient is drunk in one Spanish dialect but food poisoning in another. Knowing those smaller nuances add up to make a big difference in addressing health equity in healthcare.
How would you say your industry is adapting to South Florida’s evolving market?
With the influx of people and businesses to South Florida, at the end of the day it’s about finding creative ways to engage members regardless of their background and meeting them where they are. There is a difference between generations in how and where they want to receive care, and as more millennials move to South Florida, we have to be conscious of what their expectations are and be ready to meet them. Healthcare has to evolve and insurance has to adapt to meet providers where they are at as well. We don’t have cookie-cutter health plans in South Florida; instead, we are specific in offering benefits to members based on their individual needs. We have expanded in our virtual care offerings while also maintaining our brick and mortar options.
How will healthcare in South Florida look different in three to five years?
The healthcare landscape continues to change. Cigna is focused on making healthcare flexible and being able to switch lanes for what is best for the employer and member. Value-based programs are not stagnant and we have to be ready to respond to the evolving needs of providers, healthcare and the wider environment. Our priority is to keep a finger on the pulse of healthcare while still prioritizing affordability, safety, efficacy and quality of care. Virtual clinics are the future, and a lot of employers have flocked to Cigna because of the innovations we have made here ahead of competitors. Employers are looking more into having virtual clinics on site without having a massive brick and mortar presence. Post-pandemic, folks are more flexible. They want access to care 24/7 but they also want the ability to come on site and get care, as well.
What is your outlook for South Florida?
We have a very diverse employer slate that used to be solely tourism and hospitality, but we are seeing an influx of other industries and we are excited about the new clients and employers arriving in South Florida. Healthcare in the future looks quasi-Jetson with old-school Brady Bunch offerings: it’s about mixing the traditional brick and mortar need with the increased demand for virtual care. Look at Virtual Clinics; we are seeing healthcare moving in that direction, too. There is positive change regarding mental health, which is encouraging. I would say pre-pandemic the situation was bad and just got worse, exacerbated by loneliness and lack of access to care during the shutdown. With the growth of virtual care, we’re seeing more people accessing mental health services from the privacy of their own home, and the stigma around mental health seems to be decreasing as well as people are more willing to talk about the challenges many of us face. The future of healthcare is whole person health – not just physical but mental health and wellbeing too.
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