Evernorth’s New Behavioral Care Practice Offers Quality Care To Improve Mental Well-Being

• Patients are guaranteed an appointment within 72 hours of scheduling 
• Practice advances value-based care in mental health to drive better outcomes 
• Enables behavioral health clinicians to work with payers with greater ease, efficiency, and integration

BLOOMFIELD, Conn. March 7, 2024: Evernorth Health Services, the pharmacy, care, and benefits solution division of The Cigna Group (NYSE: CI), is launching an outpatient behavioral health practice to expand access to quality, in-network therapy for millions of people. The Evernorth Behavioral Care Group will provide evidence-based, outcome-driven care both online and in-person through a simpler care delivery experience[i]. Patients can book an appointment and are guaranteed to see a clinician who matches their unique goals and preferences within 72 hours. Clinicians in the practice are empowered to focus on patient care with reduced administrative burden. 

“The vast majority of people struggle to get help when they need it, and individual practitioners lack the tools and technology to make access easy and measure quality,” said Eva Borden, President, Behavioral Health, Evernorth Health Services. “Evernorth is committed to building a care experience that quickly and seamlessly connects a patient with the right clinician while empowering clinicians to focus on patient care by removing administrative burdens.” 

Evernorth Behavioral Care Group teamed up with The Cigna Group Ventures-backed Octave to accelerate the creation of the practice infrastructure, recruitment of qualified clinicians, and enhanced care delivery experience for clinicians. The practice will participate in Evernorth’s innovative behavioral health measurement program, which is being developed in collaboration with clinical partners to track key metrics, including how long it takes a patient to get an appointment. Leveraging measurement-based care ensures patients have quick access to quality care, can help prevent the need for patients to access a higher level of care, and can significantly lower a patient’s total cost of care. 

“Quality behavioral health care is critical to a person’s overall health and vitality, and we are relentlessly focused on connecting patients quickly and easily with clinicians that match their goals and preferences,” said Amy Ayrault, President, Evernorth Behavioral Care Group. “By creating a simple care experience, patients can focus on feeling better, and clinicians can focus on delivering best-in-class care.”

Evernorth Behavioral Care Group is launching with more than 1,000 licensed behavioral health clinicians who specialize in treating a wide range of behavioral conditions and can provide therapy for personal and social health concerns, such as relationships and intimacy, parenting support, grief, and more. 

Effective today, more than 6 million Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth Behavioral Health customers in California, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and the District of Columbia have access to these clinicians virtually, with plans to expand to in-person care and additional markets over the next several months. The practice’s in-person and virtual offerings will complement Evernorth’s virtual access to care available through MDLIVE’s 1,500 behavioral clinicians. Evernorth Behavioral Care Group will continue partnering with additional payers seeking to improve access to quality behavioral health care for their members. 

About Evernorth Health Services 

Evernorth Health Services creates pharmacy, care, and benefits solutions to improve health and increase vitality. We relentlessly innovate to make the prediction, prevention, and treatment of illness and disease more accessible to millions of people. Evernorth capabilities are powered by our businesses, including Express Scripts, Express Scripts Pharmacy, Accredo, eviCore, and MDLIVE, along with holistic Evernorth platforms and solutions that move people and organizations forward. All Evernorth solutions are serviced and provided by or through operating affiliates of Evernorth Health, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Cigna Group (NYSE: CI), or third-party partners. Learn more at evernorth.com.