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Cigna (CI) Expands Presence on Exchanges in North Carolina (Revised)

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In an effort to provide greater access to health coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Cigna Corp. (CI - Free Report) is offering its health plans in 63 counties across North Carolina for 2021.

The company is already present across five counties in the state and with this expansion, the number will increase to 68. These plans can be availed of by customers on individual exchanges during the current open enrollment season, which started on Nov 1 and will run through Dec 15, 2020.

Cigna’s new plan benefits will include $0 virtual care comprising behavioral health providers for most plans, a new diabetes care plan and coverage for some services, such as acupuncture. Enhancements that were added last year, such as a cap on insulin costs are included in the 2021 plans.

With these health plans, Cigna aims to cut down on out-of-pocket costs for the plan holders and provide an increased access to quality healthcare. Out-of-pocket costs include deductibles, coinsurance and copayments for covered services plus all costs of services that are not covered by the insurer.

Cigna’s presence on individual exchanges has been steadily rising since its launch in 2014. With this expansion, Cigna perceives growth in the ACA business for 2021.

In 2021, Cigna will provide individual and family plans on the individual exchanges in 220 counties covering 10 states, namely Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.

In September, management announced that health coverage through the individual exchanges will be available in nearly 80 new counties during 2021, representing more than 50% growth in the company’s customer reach.

Many other insurers, such as UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH - Free Report) , Anthem Inc. and Humana Corp. (HUM - Free Report) among others are offering their plans on the individual exchanges despite uncertainties surrounding the ongoing pandemic and its impact on individual market enrollment.

Year to date, the stock has gained 1.25% compared with the industry’s growth of 7.8%.


 

Cigna carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), currently. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.


(We are reissuing this article to correct a mistake. The original article, issued on November 24, 2020, should no longer be relied upon.)


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