Cigna, a leading global health services company, and Oscar Health, Inc., the first health insurance company built on a full stack technology platform, announced today that Cigna + Oscar small business health insurance will be available in Chicago (Cook county), as well as DuPage, Kane, Lake, and McHenry counties, pending regulatory approval.
- Offerings: Across Chicago, Cigna + Oscar will offer small businesses access to affordable, member-first health insurance products. Covered employees will have access to $0 copay 24/7 virtual doctor visits, low-cost prescription coverage, behavioral health support, and Cigna’s networks of quality physicians, specialists, and hospitals.
- Endurance: “Chicago small businesses have endured a lot throughout the pandemic, and many have proven to be resilient in keeping their doors open. Through our partnership with Oscar, we are providing more choices for affordable, predictable, and simple health coverage to small businesses at the time when they need it most,” said Brian Marsella, Midwest market president for Cigna.
- Variants: With the new COVID-19 variants, small businesses again face challenges operating at capacity while keeping their staff and families safe. Cigna + Oscar conducted a survey finding that 88 percent of small business owners are prioritizing employee health, and 66 percent said health insurance is more important in their budgets now than prior to the pandemic.
- Extreme difficult situations: “Small businesses have had to make extremely difficult decisions since the beginning of the pandemic and continue to face an uphill battle with the ongoing threat of the COVID-19 variants,” said Louis DeStefano, head of the small group business and senior vice president of growth at Oscar. “Cigna + Oscar is designed to help these small businesses provide high-quality care to their employees at an affordable cost that allows them to continue operating.”
- Equality: Cigna and Oscar will share the risk equally under a reinsurance agreement for solutions offered through this strategic partnership and plan to expand the partnership over time. Illinois small businesses with between one and 50 employees2 will have access to unique services driven by the combination of Cigna’s provider relationships and Oscar’s consumer-centric, tech-driven approach to customer service and care navigation.