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CIGNA Says Health Assessment and Coaching Are Key to Reducing Health Risks; Extends Exclusive License With University of Michigan


WEBWIRE

*66 percent of high-risk individuals and 31 percent of all individuals reduced their health risks after completing CIGNA’s health assessment and participating in company’s health coaching programs
*CIGNA’s exclusive rights to the University of Michigan’s Trend Management System (TMS) extended for three years
*TMS can predict future health costs with 83 percent accuracy
*Enables individuals to focus on personal health improvement and employers on targeted workplace wellness programs

BLOOMFIELD, Conn., - CIGNA said today its proprietary research shows 66 percent of high-risk individuals and 31 percent of all individuals reduced their health risks after completing the company’s health assessment and using its health coaching programs. By reducing their health risks, individuals are less likely to face future health problems and higher health care costs.

These findings come as CIGNA (NYSE:CI) and the University of Michigan have agreed to extend the health service company’s exclusive license to use the university’s Trend Management System and risk clustering algorithms for three years. CIGNA retains the right for continuous options to renew in the future.

Based on more than 30 years of research conducted by Professor Dee W. Edington, Ph.D., and researchers at the University of Michigan Health Management Research Center, the Trend Management System analyzes an individual’s responses to health risk questions and determines with 83 percent accuracy how likely that individual is to face health problems that could lead to high health care costs in the next two to three years. This predictive model helps encourage individuals to focus on improving their health and enables employers to tailor workplace health and wellness programs to meet the specific needs of their employees.

“Most health plans offer a health assessment, but no other health plan has a license to use the University of Michigan’s Trend Management System and its risk-clustering algorithms,” said Jeff Kang, M.D., CIGNA’s chief medical officer. “This exclusive arrangement puts CIGNA in a unique position to help employers make sound decisions about their workplace wellness strategies while helping individuals understand where they have the greatest opportunity to reduce their risks and improve their overall health.”

“From the time we first started to collaborate five years ago, CIGNA recognized the Trend Management System’s potential to affect people’s lives,” Edington said. “I’m pleased our research is being put to practical use to help people reduce their risks and improve their health and productivity. It makes all those years of research and development worthwhile.”

By combining the risk identification capabilities of the Trend Management System with CIGNA’s health coaching capabilities, CIGNA is able to engage people in improving their health before they begin to incur high medical costs. CIGNA links its health risk assessment and the Trend Management System to the company’s proprietary online health coaching programs for sleep, stress, nutrition and physical activity. Based on their specific results, some individuals are invited to participate in one or more online coaching programs, while others may be invited to participate in one-on-one coaching or counseling.

CIGNA and the University of Michigan also have extended their agreement to collaborate on workplace health and productivity research for another three years. Researchers have studied which risk factors have the most impact on future costs and productivity; the potential correlation between health assessment responses and future disability claims; and which “dangerous combinations” of risks might be early indicators of disease onset.

About CIGNA

CIGNA (NYSE: CI) is a global health service and financial company dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being and sense of security. CIGNA Corporation’s operating subsidiaries in the United States provide an integrated suite of health services, such as medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy and vision care benefits, as well as group life, accident and disability insurance. CIGNA maintains sales capability in 30 countries and jurisdictions and has approximately 66 million customer relationships throughout the world. All products and services are provided exclusively by such operating subsidiaries and not by CIGNA Corporation. Such operating subsidiaries include Life Insurance Company of North America, CIGNA Life Insurance Company of New York, and Connecticut General Life Insurance Company. To learn more about CIGNA, visit www.cigna.com.



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