Our health is shaped by the communities where we are born, grow, work, live, and play, along with our gender, race, education, and income. Health equity can be achieved only when no one is prevented from reaching their full health potential by any of these social determinants of health (SDOH). 

The Cigna Group has been committed to driving health equity and addressing health disparities for nearly 20 years, working alongside and in partnership with our clients, customers, and communities. Throughout 2024, we’ve continued our focus on reducing health disparities through improved access to preventive care. One tool we use is data and analytics, which allows us to identify and help people with the greatest need. 

To achieve results, we leverage our partnerships across Cigna Healthcare, the health benefits provider of The Cigna Group, and Evernorth, the health services division of The Cigna Group. One recent example is Cigna Healthcare’s “Healthier You” event in Tampa, Florida, which provided free preventive care screenings and wellness education in partnership with local health care providers, hospitals, transportation services, and the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a Cigna Healthcare client that hosted the event at its training facility. 

For preventive care, it’s game on 

“Expanding access to, and engagement in, preventive care services is key to our strategy to improve equitable health for our customers and communities,” said Brooke Tomblin, senior director of enterprise health equity at The Cigna Group. “By collaborating with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a trusted community partner, our customers were able to access important preventive health screenings in a familiar and playful environment that promoted community, education, and fun for the whole family.”  

Cigna Healthcare used the proprietary Evernorth Social Determinants of Health Index (ESDI) to identify Tampa as a location where our customers are statistically more likely to be negatively impacted by adverse SDOH, which indicates that providing additional resources and increased access to preventative care can make a significant impact in reducing barriers to optimal health. 

Community partners, including AdventHealth, Metropolitan Ministries, and CQ fluency, provided free preventive health care such as  biometric screenings, primary care and wellness visits, skin cancer screenings, mammograms, and colorectal cancer screening kits. (Pictured left: Cigna Healthcare employees volunteer to provide cancer screening resources.)

The event also brought in teams from Evernorth Health Services, including representatives from Accredo specialty pharmacy, Evernorth Behavioral Health, and Express Scripts Pharmacy. Cigna Healthcare provided a variety of health and wellness resources, including language assistance services and health coaching.  

A healthy win for the community 

The results from the event were encouraging, with nearly 300 customers attending. All the available primary care physician visit slots were filled with 43 scheduled visits and 53 held. The same was true for skin cancer screenings – with 62 visits scheduled and 78 held. Finally, the event far exceeded the preliminary attendance goal of 10% – achieving an impressive 28% attendance rate. (Pictured right: An employee from The Cigna Group demonstrating how to get a free onsite biometric screening.)

“The Cigna Group is uniquely positioned to improve health equity through data, our expertise and experience, and our partnerships,” Tomblin said. “Healthier You is just one example of our commitment to health equity innovation and community engagement, as we rethink how we deliver health care, to better reach our customers where they live, work, and play.