Originally published at cigna.com. Cigna ranked No. 33 on The Fair360, formerly DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list in 2021.
Cigna, a global health service company, and Oscar Health, Inc., the first health insurance company built on a full-stack technology platform, announced on May 20 that Cigna Administered by Oscar small group health insurance will be available to Arizona employers across Apache, Cochise, Coconino, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, Yavapai, and Yuma counties starting July 1, 2021.
“This pandemic has forced small business owners in Arizona to make many sacrifices, especially when it comes to their health care choices,” said Bruce Grimm, Cigna’s senior vice president of segments. “As more workplaces reopen, maintaining a safe workplace is vital to helping employees have peace of mind. Through our partnership with Oscar, we are providing more choices for affordable, predictable and simple health coverage to small businesses at a time when they need it most.”
Small businesses throughout Arizona continue to struggle from the impact brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Census Bureau’s Small Business Pulse Survey, 30.2 percent of small businesses in Arizona reported a decline in revenue during the first week of October 2020.
A survey conducted by Cigna Administered by Oscar found that 88 percent of small businesses plan to better prioritize their employees’ health moving forward, and 66 percent say that health insurance is more important to calculate in their budgets than before the outbreak of COVID-19.
“As the country begins to reopen, it is critical that small businesses are being helped to get back on their feet and keep their doors open,” said Louis DeStefano, head of the small group business and senior vice president of growth at Oscar. “Cigna Administered by Oscar specifically meets those needs by offering small businesses affordable health plans that meet the needs of their employees, in this moment and moving forward.”
Arizona small businesses with between one and 50 employees will have access to unique services driven by the combination of Cigna’s provider relationships and Oscar’s consumer-centric, tech-driven approach to customer service and care navigation, including:
- Expected monthly savings for businesses and their employees.
- Range of plan options across price points to meet the needs of every employee.
- Behavioral health benefits to help keep teams productive and healthy.
- Local and nationwide networks of quality doctors, hospitals, and specialists.
- Access to Cigna’s behavioral health network for mental health resources.
- Cigna Open Access Plus network, a national network of quality, cost-effective providers.
- Cigna LocalPlus®, a locally designed network of quality providers offering quality, cost-effective medical care.
- 24/7 virtual urgent care to support employees wherever they are located, at $0 cost.
- Affordable and easy-to-access pharmacy services.
- $3 co-pays on the most commonly prescribed prescriptions.
- Express Scripts pharmacists, nurses and specialty drug experts.
- Dedicated care team experts to help employees understand their benefits, find nearby care, and get the most value out of their plan.
Cigna and Oscar have agreed to share the risk equally under a reinsurance agreement for solutions offered through this strategic partnership and plan to expand the partnership over time.
