Health insurance giant Cigna has teamed up with technology-first health insurance provider Oscar Health to offer a new small business health plan in Connecticut. Cigna and Oscar Health first announced their partnership at the start of 2020.
The new plan will be available to small businesses in the state beginning July 1, 2021. Oscar Health, which was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in New York City, also recently made its full stack technology available to third-party payers and providers in a new business platform +Oscar. The new plan, Cigna + Oscar, may help relieve some of the burdens placed on small businesses in Connecticut during the Covid-19 pandemic by offering another affordable healthcare coverage option.
"Connecticut’s small businesses need more choice and value in their health care coverage options, and that is what we will offer them and their employees through this innovative partnership,” said Wendy Sherry, president of Cigna Connecticut. “The Cigna + Oscar health plans will provide affordable, predictable and simple health care coverage that prioritizes whole-person health, at a time when small business owners and their employees need it most.”
The plan also comes at a good time, as 88% of small businesses in a recent study conducted by Cigna and Oscar Health said they plan to prioritize their employees’ health moving forward. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, 66% said health insurance is more important to calculate into their budgets.
“Small businesses have had to be resilient throughout the pandemic, and it’s exciting to see them begin reopening their doors for business,” Louis DeStefano, head of the small group business and senior vice president of growth at Oscar, said in the announcement. “Cigna + Oscar is designed to help these businesses keep their doors open for the years to come by offering affordable health plans specific to their employees’ needs and budgets.”
The Cigna+Oscar plan will be available to small businesses with one to 50 employees and feature popular provisions that have become well-known features of Oscar Health, including its $3 drug program.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."