Cigna Includes Employees in Coronavirus Vaccine Uptake Efforts

Cigna announced that it will offer financial rewards to employees who receive the coronavirus vaccine.

“Even as vaccination rates increase, we are in a race against more contagious variants, and we must remain vigilant,” said Steve Miller, MD, chief clinical officer at Cigna. “Cigna is committed to doing our part to build a community of immunity – both by encouraging our employees to get vaccinated, and by providing resources to our customers, clients and communities to ensure they can access vaccines.”

The payer announced financial incentives for employees who are fully vaccinated. Cigna is offering $200 to employees who reside in the US and who are on the Cigna Medical Plan. Employees will be able to access their reward through their health savings account or health reimbursement arrangement.

Additionally, Cigna employees can use up to ten days of coronavirus-related paid emergency time off. Recovering from the coronavirus vaccine is a viable reason to leverage this benefit. This is an extension of the company’s policy in 2020 and more than 25,300 employees had used this benefit by the time the payer extended the deadline.

In its announcement, Cigna stressed that it is not requiring employees to receive a coronavirus vaccine.

The payer also expanded its efforts to reduce vaccination barriers among members.

Cigna announced that it will provide free transportation to coronavirus vaccination sites for Medicare Advantage plan members and an adult companion. Employer partners can also collaborate with Cigna to offer coronavirus vaccinations at their employer worksite health centers.

In 2020, Cigna received a 3.55 out of 5.00 in Forbes’s ranking of top employer responses to the coronavirus pandemic, securing the payer’s spot in the top 25 companies. In addition to the 10 days of coronavirus-related paid time off, the payer extended a 20 percent pay increase for American employees who had to continue working in person during the pandemic.

Centene and Anthem surpassed Cigna’s spot in twenty-first place, ranking fourteenth and fifteenth out of the top 25 employers, respectively.

As Miller suggested, the coronavirus variants have added a new layer of urgency to payers' vaccination efforts.

As of April 2, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognized five variants of the coronavirus disease present in the US. Experts are still studying whether vaccine boosters will be necessary to protect against these variants.

In the meantime, the World Health Organization (WHO) has emphasized that variants do not render coronavirus vaccines irrelevant. It is still important for members to receive the coronavirus vaccine, as all efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus will help slow the disease’s mutations.

The good news, however, is that vaccine confidence in the US is on the rise, reducing a major barrier to coronavirus prevention strategies.

In December 2020, nearly a quarter of Americans said that they would definitely not get the vaccine or that they would only receive it if it was required, according to Kaiser Family Foundation’s COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor. Four in ten Americans said they planned to “wait and see” before deciding whether to get the vaccine.

But three months later in March 2021, nearly a third of Americans in the December 2020 survey had already been vaccinated and 30 percent said they intended to receive it as soon as possible. One in five Americans still reported that they did not want to receive the vaccine or would only get it if it was required.

Payers have employed a variety of strategies to increase uptake of the vaccine. They partnered with state and local governments, companies, and community-based organizations to spread awareness and help lower social determinants of health barriers. They used their marketing platforms and brought vaccines to eligible homebound members. Others, like Cigna, have turned to incentives programs.