Cigna (NYSE: CI) is leaning into virtual health to help connect patients to behavioral health care sooner and better match clients to therapists.
In fact, at the JP Morgan Health Care conference yesterday Cigna CEO David Cordani noted that the company projects 40% of all health care will be able to be delivered fully virtually. The ability to use virtual care, particularly in specialities where there is a staffing shortage, enables patients to access care more readily.
“This is not a negative statement relative to the physical delivery of care by any stretch of imagination,” Cordani said. “It’s both a recognition of the innovation of technology and data innovation, consumer needs and consumer expectations. The supply chain doesn’t have the physical assets to supply everything we need. We have a shortage of primary care [physicians], OB-GYNs, pediatricians, geriatricians and behavioral professionals either in aggregate, or in the physical proximity that someone needs to get access to.”
As rates of mental health conditions increase, there is a large shortage of behavioral health professionals. This is projected to worsen over the next decade. In fact, by 2030 the supply of adult psychiatrists is expected to decrease by 20%, according to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. At the same time the need for psychiatrists is expected to increase by 3%.
Cigna has taken big bets on telehealth in the past. In 2021 Cigna’s services business subsidiary Evernorth acquired telehealth company MDLive for an estimated $1 billion. Evernorth is now using the MDLive platform and technology to help better match patients to therapists.
“On average, a person has a 50% probability of making “magic” with their therapist in their first interaction,” Cordani said. “But with data and digitization, you could use matching algorithms to match individual preferences to therapists, and increase the probability that when they do interact, that 50% is going to be much higher.”
Although Cordani said he sees a lot of potential in using a virtual modality for behavioral health, the organization will continue to grow its in-person offerings as well.
“That is not an exclusion of the physical delivery network, we actually grew a physical delivery network for behavioral by 50% during the same time,” Cordani said.
Evernorth has made a number of deals in the behavioral health tech space. In August Evernorth announced a partnership with digital substance use disorder (SUD) treatment provider Bicycle Health. It has also teamed up with addiction treatment platform Quit Genius to make its products available to members, and Alma, a business service platform to help independent mental health practitioners.
