Episode 3: A Solid Foundation – The Importance of a Quality Global Health Care Network
Interviewer: Welcome to the Cigna Global Health Benefits “We Know Expats” podcast series. In each session we’ll talk to
the experts about the issues expats face when living abroad and how employers can help their globally mobile
employees succeed in their assignments.
Today I’m talking with Kevin Joseph about the importance of a solid global healthcare network for employers and their
employees.
Welcome, Kevin. Please take a moment and tell me a little bit about yourself and your role at Cigna.
Kevin Joseph: Great. Thanks, Jackie, for having me today. My role is Director of Network Operations and Effectiveness.
And there are two main functions that I’ll sort of introduce today. One is going to be we are partnering with
international healthcare professionals, so when you go out to our website Envoy and you are looking for providers, it’s
my team’s job to make sure that we are servicing those guys at a high level on an ongoing basis so that when you search,
they continue to stay in the network.
The second part of that is going to be around how we service our Cigna Links partners. Earlier this year we rolled out our
relationship with Cowan, which is our partner up in Canada. So, making sure that those partnerships stay intact and we
can continue to deliver a high level of service with those guys moving forward.
Interviewer: How would you describe a good global healthcare network?
Kevin Joseph: In one word, I’d describe it as thoughtful. Some of our competitors have pretty much gone out into the
international space to say, “Show up with our ID card and that’s going to take you through.” We know that doesn’t work
in the international space, so we’ve taken a multi-pronged approach to building our network so that it’s going to be our
directly contracted network where when you do pull out that card, it’s world recognized and it’s going to work.
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But when and where it doesn’t make sense, we partner with our Cigna Links partners. So we were talking about Cowan
before, and other parts of the world, so when you think about Hong Kong, we partner with QHMS so that when you
need to go to those parts of the world where the Cigna brand may not be as well-recognized, we have a partner. Their
branding is accepted so that our members can get that service that they are looking for.
The third piece that we add in there is that we partner with international SOS. So if we couldn’t issue a GOP or a
Guarantee of Payment or our partners couldn’t, we have international SOS as a backdrop. So I say we’ve really tried to
be thoughtful in how we’ve created those things.
And then, lastly, if we had someone that didn’t want to work with us on an ongoing basis, we can issue those GOP’s or
Guarantees of Payment on an ad hoc basis. So, really trying to be thoughtful, having a multi-pronged approach in how
we build out networks versus just thinking there’s one solution in the global world, where it just doesn’t work that way.
Interviewer: Given that description, what would an employer need to find out when looking for the best healthcare
professional network for their globally mobile employees? And how does Cigna Global Health Benefits measure up to
those expectations?
Kevin Joseph: There are a couple of things that I would also tell a potential customer or one of our existing clients to
think through. One, ask about the actual size. So you always want to look at the count. Cigna by itself today has over
250,000 international providers. And as we’ve scanned the external market, that’s the largest global network outside of
the US context. So that’s the first thing that I look at.
But then the second part underneath that really starts to get into how effective is that network? And one of the things
that’s critical in the international space is what’s the level of direct billing that you can actually look to achieve?
So Cigna, purely on an international cut, removing the US piece is actually at 68% direct billing today. So, more than twothirds of your claims, you can show up to an international healthcare professional’s office and know that you won’t have
to pay out of pocket.
The other cut that we look at is we really look at that data on an inpatient and outpatient basis as well. So what we
found is some of our competition only looks at the inpatient piece. So by looking at it on an inpatient and outpatient
basis, that 68% is also an industry leading number that we’ve been able to validate. And as we sit down and we talk with
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clients around the world about our solution and producers and brokers, we consistently get that Cigna has an unrivaled
network solution out in the marketplace.
Interviewer: Kevin, earlier you mentioned Cigna Links. What is it?
Kevin Joseph: Good question. The way we’ve thought about our Cigna Links program is it’s a Cigna branded way that we
partner with our external third-party administrators. So, instead of us simply going out looking to create a healthcare
professional network as we talked about before, we’ve really been thoughtful about how we select those partners, and
then, in turn, what really starts to separate us is how we exchange information back and forth.
So, as we’ve talked with some of our partners, so, Medical Services Organization, which is our Cigna Links partner over in
South Africa, the one thing that we consistently get back from them is the way that we share our eligibility information
so that when our members show up and they are ready to access care in that region, it’s a seamless process.
So we’ve branded this approach to how we want to build networks, how we partner with these third-party
administrators, how we share data back and forth so that when our members show up, they really do have a seamless
experience as if they were in any other part of the world.
So the Cigna Links program is a way that we’ve branded our approach for how we look to partner with third-party
administrators driving towards a couple of different things I’ll sort of called out—better cost for our members and also
understanding that they are driving towards better quality healthcare no matter where they are in the world.
Interviewer: I can see how the employee benefits or the patient benefits through Cigna Links. How does the employer
benefit?
Kevin Joseph: I think there are a few ways that employers benefit. One, when we partner with the right partner that
helps us to manage costs, it’s going to show in the premiums that our employers are actually paying. The other part that
I’d call out is that in certain parts of the world, so when you think about The Middle East, when you think about
Australia, we need a partner to operate in those regions. So what people can feel confident about is when you partner
with Cigna in our Cigna Links programs, there’s also going to b e a compliance piece associated with that as well.
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So not only are we looking for the cost piece, the quality piece, but when and where compliance is necessary, you can
trust the fact that we have the right resources dedicated from a compliance standpoint and you won’t be at risk when
you are traveling to some of these parts of the world where compliance could be a challenge or other carriers. Cigna is
going to have the right controls and foundation in place so you can rest at night and not necessarily have to think about
some of the compliance risks that might otherwise exist around the world.
Interviewer: Thank you, Kevin, for talking with me today. You really explained how to determine the true value of a good
global healthcare network.
For more information on Cigna’s global network, please visit CignaGlobalHealth.com.
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Confidential, unpublished property of Cigna. Do not duplicate or distribute. Use and distribution limited solely to authorized personnel. © 2016 Cigna