4 Healthcare Trends for 2023 and How They Will Impact U. S…. – Cigna Newsroom

All businesses today – large and small, irrespective of industry – are in the business associated with healthcare. Forbes has gone so far as to say that the future of work is employee health plus well-being .

And rightfully so. In the United States, today’s workforce is grappling with a mental health crisis and rising costs of living while dealing with a tripledemic of COVID-19, flu, plus respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) that is keeping many people away from work, driving medical expenses, and straining hospitals . Meeting employees’ needs across a plethora of different dimensions that make up their health and well-being has never been more challenging – or rewarding.

Despite those factors, the healthcare outlook with regard to early 2023 and beyond has a number of encouraging trends for the employers who provide health insurance to employees and their families. Read on to learn more about four top healthcare topics and how they will impact American businesses.

1. Heightened Focus on the Vitality and Well-Being of Employees

The body and mind are intrinsically connected, but the complexities of wellness and wellness go beyond just physical plus mental health.

“In 2023, we’ll see a heightened focus upon a more holistic approach to wellness and well-being, ” said Dr. David Brailer , chief health officer, Cigna Corporation. “Companies will look beyond simply physical and mental wellness to build wellbeing strategies that will hit on all of the dimensions of people’s lives that impact their health insurance and wellbeing. ”

Cigna has long supported an approach in order to employee well-being that empowers individuals to attain health and fitness in each dimension of their lives, particularly when it comes to benefits. We recently partnered with Dr. Richard Ryan in order to launch the particular Evernorth Energy Index , a tool to measure health and wellness regarding personal, business, and community impact.

Using the Index, we surveyed 10, 000 U. S. adults to better understand the state of vitality among the general population as well because the American workforce, and we found that will higher energy – the capacity to pursue life along with health, strength, and energy – will be linked to a far more motivated, connected, plus productive workforce. Furthermore, workers with high levels of vitality are healthier, more confident in their jobs, feel supported at function, and are more motivated and productive than those with lower vigor levels. Crucially, those along with higher vitality are more likely to stay with their own current employer – an important asset intended for employers navigating the Great Resignation .

Research finds that employer-sponsored well being programs will yield a 47% average return upon investment (ROI) to employers this year. In layman’s terms: For every dollar an company spends on workforce health, they get back $1. 47 in financial benefits.

Companies can support workforce vitality by building the culture of health reflected in all policies, procedures, behaviors, and expectations. This includes taking a holistic approach in order to benefits, which empowers individuals to attain health in every dimension associated with their lives: financial, physical, emotional, social, intellectual, environmental, spiritual, plus occupational.

2 . A Strategic Effort To Keep Drugs Affordable

Prescription drugs are the second biggest health care expense to get employers nowadays, representing about a third of total healthcare costs pertaining to businesses. While generic medications account meant for 90% associated with all prescriptions , specialty products are at the other end of the affordability spectrum. With an average annual price associated with $38, 000 per patient, specialty medications are used by  less than 2% of the population yet account for  a lot more than half of overall drug spending   in the United States.   Biologics – which are derived from components of living organisms such since blood, cells, tissues, or even recombinant proteins – can cost as much as  $50, 500 for a single dose [PDF] , and treating one patient may cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per 12 months.

Help is usually on the horizon. In the Circumstance. S.,   more than  90  biosimilars   – clinically equivalent products to U. H. Food plus Drug Administration (FDA) approved biologics – have been in development today. More than 20 are available for use, with additional biosimilars coming soon.

“Biosimilars hold tremendous promise to improve the value of life-changing specialty medicines, and this is part of our work to expand access in order to them and achieve lower costs designed for the companies and members we serve, ” stated Katy Wong, chief pharmacy officer, Cigna Pharmacy.  

In 2023, we expect to see a number of biosimilar products that can be dispensed interchangeably with Humira , a widely used biologic that treats conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, plus psoriasis, reach the Oughout. S. market in 2023. Cigna Pharmacy, which manages pharmacy advantages, will add biosimilars as preferred items on its commercial formularies at the same position as Humira. Pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts, which is a part of Evernorth (Cigna Corporation’s wellness services division), is also adding inflammatory conditions biosimilars to the largest formularies. Adding biosimilars to these formularies can generate competition, helping lower costs for plan sponsors and patients.    

Other relatively new products guarantee a cure in one dose – at a price that may soar into millions of dollars. Within November, the particular FDA-approved Hemgenix , the gene therapy for people with a rare type of hemophilia. The list price: $3. 5 million.  

Payers are looking for ways to help strategy sponsors plus patients afford these important new therapies. For example, Cigna offers Embarc Benefit Protection . Under this program, clients pay a flat per-member, per-month charge, which usually protects them from the price shock of high-priced medicines such as gene therapies. Patients pay nothing out of pocket and receive personalized, expert care to assist all of them through their particular health journey.

3. Digital and Virtual Health Is Here To Stay

As people stayed home to stay safe in the early months of the pandemic, virtual visits along with medical offices, behavioral therapists, and even typically hands-on practitioners this kind of as bodily therapists boomed. According to the Us Medical Association (AMA), 14% of physicians were available for virtual visits in 2016; that number jumped in order to 80% within 2022.

Interest has grown along with availability. “According to Cigna’s research, availability plus access in order to virtual health has become increasingly important, ” said Katya Andresen , Cigna’s chief digital and analytics officer, citing the study that will shows 76% of people are interested in using telehealth, compared with just 11% that used telehealth in 2019. Even after the particular pandemic ends, 83% associated with patients expect to make use of virtual treatment. Sixty percent of consumers’ most recent mental health visits were via telehealth.

Inside addition to communicating one-on-one using internet conferencing tools, mobile apps, and phone calls, digital health equipment provide another layer of care. In 2016, just 12% associated with doctors were able to utilize wireless remote monitoring devices; these days, that number is 30% and growing, according to the AMA study. With regard to example, remote monitoring devices can keep physicians appraised of a patient’s blood glucose levels, heart rhythm changes, plus other vital signs. In the future , doctors expect in order to use products that can monitor conditions such as epilepsy and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Patients with chronic conditions also are usually finding value in digital care. Regarding example, MDLIVE, Evernorth’s virtual care platform, is evolving its digital primary care program to enhance assistance for patients with persistent conditions . Patients will work with their primary treatment doctor in order to develop a care program that includes condition management and lifestyle goals, lab tests, medication management, and referrals to other health providers. Their care team may track their own progress along with remote checking through linked devices, such as blood pressure cuffs plus blood sugar supervising devices.

Just as individuals can advantage from readily available virtual care, so can their particular employers. With the right digital care solutions, organizations can enjoy better population health, greater employee engagement, increased productivity, and lower total expenses of treatment.

“Digital technology is the key to transforming our fragmented health care system and reorienting it around consumers, ” Andresen said . “Digital innovation allows us to shape people’s care based upon their own unique needs, bringing treatment into their homes and to their fingertips, plus it connects their care across sites and experiences. In 2023, expect in order to see acceleration of electronic adoption and transformation in an unprecedented pace – because adoption is large and the particular benefits are higher still. ”

four. Working To Fix Our Fragmented Healthcare System

Healthcare is definitely complex. Within the Usa States, it’s all too often fragmented . An individual may observe numerous healthcare professionals, who else rarely have complete insight into the patient’s medical history, prescription medications, and other aspects that may – and often should – influence care decisions. That’s why most appointments to a new practitioner start with an extensive medical history, requiring dedicated staff time and relying on the particular memory from the person being seen.

For example , one of the biggest issues within the behavioral health space is the lack of connection to medical and pharmacy treatment, said Eva Borden, president of behavior health from Evernorth. She predicts that health tech start-ups will play a role in forging connections that will be crucial to providing whole-person, alternative health care.

“Our clients plus customers are usually exhausted by the fragmented healthcare system, ” mentioned Heather Dlugolenski, senior vice president, You. S. options, Cigna. “They want 1 place to go to get the personalized experience for their entire healthcare trip. ” In order to address that, we lately announced Cigna Pathwell , a concierge service that will creates a personalized end-to-end health journey for sufferers with complex conditions.

Solutions like Pathwell will help employers by streamlining benefits administration, reducing complexity and associated costs while optimizing care for their own employees – and more healthy employees mean a healthier business.