Latest news with #Evernorth
Time of India
03-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Evernorth appoints Prashanti Bodugum as Head of Hyderabad innovation hub
Evernorth Health Services, the pharmacy, care, and benefits solutions division of The Cigna Group , proudly announces the appointment of Prashanti Reddy Bodugum as Head of Evernorth India (Hyderabad Innovation Hub ), effective 30 June 2025. With over 26 years of global leadership experience, Prashanti brings deep expertise in leading large-scale digital transformations, building high-performing tech teams, and delivering results across healthcare, retail, and financial services. She most recently served as Vice President , GCC, at Walmart Global Tech and has held senior roles at Optum, Capgemini, and GE. ' It's an honor to join Evernorth during such a transformative phase ,' said Prashanti. ' The Hyderabad Innova- tion Hub is already a powerhouse of talent and innovation. I'm excited to build on that foundation, nurture future leaders, and accelerate our impact for customers and all those we serve .' ' Prashanti's entrepreneurial mindset and proven track record in scaling global capability centers make her the ideal leader for this next chapter. Her leadership will be instrumental in driving innovation and delivery so that we can better serve customers, clients and stakeholders,' said Neel Chopdekar , SVP and COO of Information Technology at Evernorth. A passionate advocate for women in technology, Prashanti has spearheaded inclusive programs like ReSpark, CodeHers, and iLead, driving equitable career advancement for women in senior tech roles. Among her many achievements, Prashanti led the transformation of Walmart's Chennai center into an exponential tech value engine, delivering digital, analytics, and automation solutions for Fortune 500 enterprises. Ashok Venkatachalam, who has led and successfully grown the Hyderabad Innovation Hub over the past 15 months, will assume a new role within Evernorth.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
National pharmacy company sues Arkansas over law eliminating PBM pharmacy ownership
Video: Arkansas bill would prevent Pharmacy Benefit Managers from owning pharmacies LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A lawsuit was filed in Little Rock federal court on Thursday to overturn an Arkansas law preventing pharmacy benefit managers from operating pharmacies in the state. The suit filed by the pharmacy benefit management firm Express Scripts by Evernorth claims that violates the Constitution and federal law. It requests that the court prevent Act 624 from going into effect. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs bill blocking PBM ownership of pharmacies into law St. Louis-based Express Scripts is the pharmacy benefit management arm of The Cigna Group, a multinational health care and insurance company. Pharmacy benefits managers act as intermediaries between pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies to set rates, including the compensation amounts paid to pharmacies. Act 624 prohibits pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from owning pharmacies in Arkansas. The lawsuit claims that Act 624 violates the Constitution's Commerce Clause and the Privileges & Immunities Clause. It also states the law violates the Constitution's Attainder Clause, which prevents laws from being passed that punish individuals or groups without a trial. The lawsuit continues to claim that it interferes with federal law since the act would prevent Express Scripts from honoring its TRICARE contract with the Department of Defense. TRICARE is the health plan, including pharmacy support, for active duty National Guard, reserve, and retired military members and their families. The suit has multiple plaintiffs under the Express Scripts umbrella and is filed against the state pharmacy board and its members. CVS shares statement after Arkansas bill restricting PBMs from owning pharmacies is signed into law Evernorth Health Services Vice President of Pharmacy Practice and pharmacist Susan Peppers said the suit was filed to ensure continued access to care. 'Our family of pharmacies—including Express Scripts Pharmacy, Accredo Specialty Pharmacy and Freedom Fertility Pharmacy—are proud to serve Arkansans, and this law will disrupt their access to the care we provide,' Peppers said. 'If this law takes effect in January, hundreds of thousands of Arkansans will be left scrambling to navigate the forced closure of pharmacies and finding new ways to get their medicines and critical clinical support.' Peppers continued that Evernorth was doing 'everything we can' to protect Arkansas patients. Arkansas Attorney General Griffin signs letter asking for federal law to prohibit Pharmacy Benefit Managers from owning pharmacies Attorney General Tim Griffin, whose office will defend against the case, stated that PBMs hinder access and quality. 'Pharmacy benefit managers wield outsized power to reap massive profits at the expense of consumers,' Griffin said. 'The rise of PBMs as middlemen in the prescription drug market has resulted in patients facing fewer choices, lower quality care, and higher prices.' Griffin added that PBMs 'leverage their affiliated pharmacies to manipulate prices, corrupt the market, and destroy competition. Through Act 624, Arkansas is standing up to PBMs on behalf of consumers, and I will vigorously defend our law.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cigna Announced a New Agreement for Copay Caps on Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk Weight Loss Drugs
The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)'s Evernorth division has announced a new deal with Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly that will limit insured customers' monthly out-of-pocket expenses for weight-loss drugs Zepbound and Wegovy to $200. A healthcare team discussing strategies for patient advocacy programs. Beginning in the second half of 2025, the program targets businesses that do not already cover these drugs because of their high price tag. Harold Carter, senior vice president at Evernorth, stated the agreement guarantees uniform pricing for pharmacies and Evernorth's home delivery while streamlining pre-authorization. The GLP-1 drugs are currently only covered by half of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)'s clients. Customers who now provide coverage could save as much as 20%. The agreement comes after Lilly's Zepbound was essentially sidelined when CVS Caremark said in April that Wegovy was its preferred weight-loss medication. According to analysts, net discounts for employers on list prices range from 30% to 50%. Zepbound lists at $1,100 with a $725 net price; Wegovy lists at $1,350/month but averaged $616 net in March. When compared to cash expenditures made out of pocket, the new caps offer savings of over 50%. Evernorth's action is in advance of the Inflation Reduction Act's 2027 Medicare drug pricing reductions, which will benefit Novo's products. Eli Lilly states that it remains committed to expanding industry collaboration to improve access to Zepbound. While we acknowledge the potential of CI to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CI and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this READ NEXT: and . Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) Stock Is Falling Today
Shares of telehealth company Hims & Hers Health (NYSE:HIMS) fell 6.3% in the afternoon session after Cigna Group's Evernorth division introduced a monthly $200 price cap for weight-loss medications such as Wegovy and Zepbound, a move that could significantly disrupt pricing in the weight loss drug market. For Hims & Hers, which offers both compounded Semaglutide and branded GLP-1 treatments, this introduces a direct competitive threat, particularly if Evernorth's pricing becomes a benchmark in the industry. The shares closed the day at $53.52, down 7.7% from previous close. The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Hims & Hers Health? Access our full analysis report here, it's free. Hims & Hers Health's shares are extremely volatile and have had 94 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today's move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business. The previous big move we wrote about was 16 days ago when the stock gained 20.2% on the news that the company reported strong first quarter 2025 results which significantly beat analysts' expectations on revenue, EPS, and EBITDA. Sales more than doubled from the previous year driven by higher monthly spending per subscriber and a broader product mix tailored to personalized health needs. While subscriber growth slowed to 38% year over year, average revenue per user climbed over 50%, indicating deeper wallet share from existing customers and more engagement with premium offerings. On the other hand, revenue guidance was softer than anticipated. Still, we think this was a decent quarter. Hims & Hers Health is up 112% since the beginning of the year, but at $53.35 per share, it is still trading 22.4% below its 52-week high of $68.74 from February 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Hims & Hers Health's shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $5,340. Here at StockStory, we certainly understand the potential of thematic investing. Diverse winners from Microsoft (MSFT) to Alphabet (GOOG), Coca-Cola (KO) to Monster Beverage (MNST) could all have been identified as promising growth stories with a megatrend driving the growth. So, in that spirit, we've identified a relatively under-the-radar profitable growth stock benefiting from the rise of AI, available to you FREE via this link.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cigna Announced a New Agreement for Copay Caps on Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk Weight Loss Drugs
The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)'s Evernorth division has announced a new deal with Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly that will limit insured customers' monthly out-of-pocket expenses for weight-loss drugs Zepbound and Wegovy to $200. A healthcare team discussing strategies for patient advocacy programs. Beginning in the second half of 2025, the program targets businesses that do not already cover these drugs because of their high price tag. Harold Carter, senior vice president at Evernorth, stated the agreement guarantees uniform pricing for pharmacies and Evernorth's home delivery while streamlining pre-authorization. The GLP-1 drugs are currently only covered by half of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)'s clients. Customers who now provide coverage could save as much as 20%. The agreement comes after Lilly's Zepbound was essentially sidelined when CVS Caremark said in April that Wegovy was its preferred weight-loss medication. According to analysts, net discounts for employers on list prices range from 30% to 50%. Zepbound lists at $1,100 with a $725 net price; Wegovy lists at $1,350/month but averaged $616 net in March. When compared to cash expenditures made out of pocket, the new caps offer savings of over 50%. Evernorth's action is in advance of the Inflation Reduction Act's 2027 Medicare drug pricing reductions, which will benefit Novo's products. Eli Lilly states that it remains committed to expanding industry collaboration to improve access to Zepbound. While we acknowledge the potential of CI to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CI and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this READ NEXT: and . Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
