David Cordani, chairman and CEO of the Cigna Group, recently joined Bret Baier on Fox News “Special Report” to talk about health care in America. From the government shutdown to affordability pressures, Cordani shared insights on the factors driving the costs. He also covered how The Cigna Group is driving value and delivering better health care to Americans.

We’ve highlighted a few quotes below or you can watch the interview here. We’ve also included the transcript of the full unedited conversation below.

Care Coordination & Centers of Excellence:

• “The best way to lower health costs is to avoid a health event from ever transpiring. The second-best way is, if you’re dealing with a chronic condition, to get the best possible care and coordination. A lot of that is pharmaceutical care, and most often, a generic drug is the best. If you’re confronting a major medical challenge, which a small but significant percentage of Americans do every year, it’s about getting to a center of excellence, and we work toward that each and every day.”

Commitments to Better: 

• “In June, the industry partnered with the federal government through Secretary Kennedy and Administrator Oz with a pledge to expand overall access to service and create more public-private partnerships to further improve overall affordability for the benefit of Americans. That’s how we move forward.”

Full Transcript:

Bret Baier: Health care and health insurance are some of the main issues in the government shutdown. This shutdown, obviously, is concerning a lot of people. How do you see it from your perch in health insurance?

David Cordani: I think the American people prefer government to be open so government can be working for the people. So, we need to move on and efficiently get back to opening up the government.

The affordability issue in America is something that most people agree to. That’s fundamentally based on two things: our population is getting a bit older and our health status is eroding - fully 60% of all Americans are dealing with at least one chronic illness and disease. Additionally, a lot of the new services that are coming on line are very costly, and that’s where the President has stepped in recently to lead on the lack of affordability for brand pharmaceuticals, and we’re aligned with that in driving further innovations to improve overall value for Americans.

Let me read you this Washington Post Editorial Board, and it's titled The Shutdown Conversation No One Wants, and it reads: “The real problem is that the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, was never actually affordable. President Barack Obama's signature achievement allowed people to buy insurance on marketplaces with subsidies based on their income. The architects of the program assumed that risk pools would be bigger than they turned out to be. As a result, policies cost more than expected. To salvage the program, Democrats expanded subsidies to entice more people to buy plans.” Do you find that fair in how it’s described?

It’s a very complicated topic, but I think that’s an incomplete description of it.

The exchanges brought individual products back to Americans who, in many cases, didn’t have access to an alternative. Either they didn’t qualify for Medicaid or they didn’t have an employer sponsored solution. Recently, the exchanges have been expanded tremendously, and the programs are not designed for some of the people they’re servicing. But, if you step back to the programs that are working more effectively in the United States, for example our Medicare Advantage and many aspects of the U.S. employer system, we are trying to work to improve health or lower health risks, work with physicians on paying for value not just for volume, and drive additional innovations.

So obviously, you know, there’s no love lost with insurance companies. Cigna Group ended 2024 with significant revenue growth, about up 27% to $247 billion. You’ve seen the reaction. How do we change this in the short term so that people don’t feel this pain in the long term?

There’s two dimensions here. We’re a health service company. We serve employers who choose to work with us, the government health care systems, whether the hospitals or physician groups, and other health plans. We’re rewarded with about 4% return when we do a good job on behalf of those we serve.

In terms of how we solve the problem you raised, it’s two-fold. First, improving overall affordability. Second, expanding access to care. A good example of that is, earlier this year, we came forward with our Commitment to Better, our voluntary commitment to expand access and ease of service, expand supportive services, and further expand a value or affordability for individuals. I’m proud to say that happened in early 2025. And in June the industry partnered with the federal government through Secretary Kennedy and Administrator Oz with a pledge to expand overall access to service and create more public-private partnerships to further improve overall affordability for the benefit of Americans. That’s how we move forward.

In terms of the most important issues facing the country, health care is up to 11%. So clearly this is a major issue for America?

We agree 100%. We have tens of thousands of colleagues that wake up every day trying to improve people’s lives. The best way to lower health costs is to avoid a health event from ever transpiring. The second-best way is, if you’re dealing with a chronic condition, to get the best possible care and coordination around that. A lot of that is pharmaceutical care, and most often, a generic drug is the best. If you’re confronting a major medical challenge, which a small but significant percentage of Americans do every year, it’s about getting to a center of excellence, and we work toward that each and every day.

Stepping back, improving affordability is paramount. Our health status is eroding, but there’s also a cost challenge, which is significantly exacerbated by the rising cost of pharmaceuticals. And again, the President is focused on that.

I’ll end with a bright spot. I was with a large employer in the Southeast last week. Over the last five years, their costs have risen less than 3% per year for each of the last five years through some of the innovations we’ve developed to bring costs down.

Full transcript edited slightly for length and clarity.