Cigna looks to expand digital operations, cut real estate holdings in ‘22

Photo | CoStar Cigna headquarters in Bloomfield.

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By Zachary Vasile

Bloomfield-based Cigna said it will continue to up its investment in digital tools this year, an effort to enhance care for policyholders while at the same time streamlining the company’s operations.

During an earnings call Thursday morning, President and CEO David M. Cordani said the company will push forward with plans for a “digital-first” posture, which will allow patients to more readily access and share medical and behavioral health data and improve automation of certain services.

One element of that shift is a $119 million strategic plan to streamline Cigna’s own internal operations.

Executive vice president and CFO Brian Evanko said the overhaul will include selling off certain real estate holdings that the company found it could do without over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Evanko did not say what sites are under consideration.

Cigna saw its year-to-year earnings dip in 2021 after a blockbuster 2020 but said the fundamentals of its business remain strong.

The health insurer reported income of $5.4 billion in 2021, or $15.73 per share, down from $8.5 billion, or $22.96 per share, the year before. That difference is mainly attributable to an after-tax gain of $3.2 billion that Cigna picked up in 2020 from the sale of its group disability and life segment, company officials said, not any deterioration of business over the last 12 months.

In its 2022 outlook, Cigna said it expects to reach revenues of at least $177 billion and adjusted income of $6.95 billion by the end of the year.