Evernorth expands digital health formulary with Big Health, Quit Genius tools

Evernorth, the health services arm of insurer Cigna, announced it has added five new programs to its digital health formulary, including offerings from Big Health and Quit Genius.

The new additions to the formulary are Big Health’s Sleepio digital therapeutic for insomnia and its Daylight tool for anxiety, Quit Genius’ alcohol use disorder and opioid use disorder programs, and HealthBeacon’s injectable medication adherence tool for inflammatory conditions.

Evernorth also announced four pilot programs, which will evaluate the chosen tools for clinical impact and user experience. Those pilots are Jasper Health for cancer care, Zerigo Health for psoriasis and eczema, Hinge Health’s new women’s pelvic health program and Lid Sync’s medication adherence tool. 

The subsidiary said the tools included in its formulary have been reviewed by physicians, pharmacists and user experience experts, and meet Evernorth’s standards for clinical effectiveness, security and privacy, value and usability. Health plan sponsors can choose to offer these digital health tools as part of their benefits.

“Evernorth continues to expand our Digital Health Formulary to address unmet health care needs of patients with chronic and complex medical conditions,” Dr. Glen Stettin, chief innovation officer at Evernorth, said in a statement. “The latest additions give patients access to new and affordable options to improve and maintain their health while making it easier and cost effective for our clients to include these solutions in their benefit plans. The Digital Health Formulary is one of the ways we can connect employers, insurers and patients with innovative, affordable and evidence-based care that meet their broader healthcare needs.”

THE LARGER TREND

Express Scripts, a pharmacy benefit manager that is now under the Evernorth portfolio, first announced plans to launch a digital health formulary several years ago. It also added new tools to the program in late 2020, including Wildflower Health’s app-based women’s health offering, Quit Genius’ program for smoking and vaping cessation, and muscle and joint pain programs from Hinge Health.

Evernorth has recently added other offerings in the digital health and health tech space, including a partnership with Bicycle Health for virtual opioid use disorder treatment and an expansion of its continuous glucose monitor coverage. It acquired telehealth provider MDLive last year as well. 

A recent survey of 1,300 physicians by the American Medical Association found more doctors saw digital health tools as an advantage for patient care this year compared with 2016. However, there are still concerns about quality and efficacy. A study published in JMIR earlier this year found many digital health startups weren’t clinically robust, lacking clinical trials or regulatory filings. 

Meanwhile, Big Health announced a $75 million Series C funding round early this year, while Quit Genius closed a $64 million Series B in 2021. Irish firm HealthBeacon went public late last year on Euronext’s growth market in Dublin.