Cigna adds partners for opioid use disorder treatment
Cigna has teamed up with Bicycle Health to add coverage for virtual opioid use disorder treatment to Cigna plan customers. Bicycle Health also partnered with Evernorth’s behavioral network to offer its treatment to Evernorth clients.
Evernorth is the health services business of Cigna. Bicycle Health offers evidence-based virtual opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment through its team of medical experts and virtual platform. The company raised $50 million in a Series B funding round in June. In addition, Bicycle Health expanded to seven new states this year, and now serves more than 17,000 patients across 24 states.
The partnership comes as drugmakers, pharmacies and other healthcare institutions are being targeted for their roles in the opioid epidemic in the U.S., which claimed more than 56,000 deaths in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Recently, CVS Health, Walgreens and Walmart were ordered to pay $650 million to two counties in Ohio for their roles in the epidemic. Numerous other lawsuits are still ongoing across the country.
According to Bicycle Health, its virtual care model greatly expands access to opioid use disorder treatment, which the company stated is largely inaccessible for in-person treatment. Roughly 40% of counties in the United States do not have a single MAT provider for OUD. Plus, 56% of counties with the biggest need have inadequate capacity to treat people in need in an office setting according to a 2020 report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Bicycle Health’s treatment plans include access to behavioral health clinicians to create a personalized care plan, including a prescription to Buprenorphine/Naloxone (Suboxone) if needed.
“We’re grateful and inspired by the visionary approach Evernorth has brought to this collaboration. Opioid use disorder is highly stigmatized in the U.S., which directly contributes to 90% of people with the disorder not pursuing treatment,” Ankit Gupta, CEO and founder of Bicycle Health, said in a statement. “By joining Evernorth’s behavioral health network, health plans and employers are now able to cover this kind of care more easily than ever before. It is only through that kind of vision and leadership that we will turn the tide in addressing the opioid crisis.”
To get on Bicycle’s platform, customers first have an enrollment call to determine if the program is a fit for their needs. After the initial call, an appointment with a provider is scheduled.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."