Cigna Reports $1 Billion Profit On Strong Evernorth Pharmacy Performance

Cigna reported $1.1 billion internet revenue for the fourth quarter of final yr aided by the corporate’s Evernorth well being companies enterprise which manages pharmacy advantages.

Evernorth, which incorporates the pharmacy profit administration firm Cigna purchased with its 2018 acquisition of Categorical Scripts, helped enhance the corporate’s whole income 10% to $45.7 billion and forward of analysts’ expectations in comparison with $41.7 billion within the year-ago interval, the corporate stated Thursday in its fourth quarter 2021 earnings report. Cigna’s internet revenue was down 73% from final yr’s fourth quarter, which included the after tax achieve of $3.2 billion from the 2020 sale of its group incapacity and life enterprise.

Nonetheless, Cigna’s diversified portfolio, which incorporates industrial and authorities strains of medical health insurance in addition to healthcare companies underneath the Evernorth umbrella are serving to to develop the corporate.

Particularly, Cigna stated the “pharmacy buyer base on the finish of 2021 grew to 107.3 million, an natural enhance of 8.4 million yr to this point, pushed by sturdy ongoing retention and new gross sales.” That helped enhance pharmacy revenues, that are the most important a part of whole firm gross sales, by 14% to $32.3 billion within the fourth quarter of final yr, the report showed.

In the meantime, whole medical prospects in Cigna’s well being plans grew 3% to 17.1 million, a rise of 431,000 prospects yr to this point. That helped enhance premium income by 8% to $9.5 billion.

Cigna chairman and chief government David Cordani vowed to proceed to develop the corporate’s various portfolio of healthcare companies this yr. “2022 can be a yr of progress throughout our franchise as we proceed innovating and advancing our work to make well being care extra reasonably priced, predictable, and easy,” Cordani stated in a press release.