Cigna knows that compassion and community efforts help solve problems. Shame and blame do not. Substance use disorders are a chronic disease, and we are committed to helping those who may be at-risk.
For those who already live with a substance use disorder, we need a health care system that supports early detection and prioritizes an integrated, holistic approach to health. This is why Cigna partners with Shatterproof™, a national non-profit focused exclusively on helping people with substance use disorders.
Joined by Cigna and other ambassadors, advocates, and supporters, Shatterproof is dedicated to making changes that will save lives.
Cigna is a strong partner to Shatterproof. The company is part of Shatterproof’s Substance Use Disorder Task Force focused on improving access to quality treatment for people with substance use disorders. In addition, Cigna’s chief medical officer for the behavioral health division serves on Shatterproof’s Scientific Board.
The Cigna Foundation has also supported the organization with $200,000 in World of Difference grants that enabled the creation of the online Shatterproof Resource Portal. This interactive portal disseminates the most up-to-date, evidence-based information on how to understand, prevent, intervene, treat, and recover from the disease of addiction.
Cigna employees in Dallas, Hartford, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C., have gone to the extreme to help Shatterproof and even rappelled off buildings in an effort to raise funds. All told, the events raised more than $90,000 to help fight addiction. Today, the Cigna Foundation also sponsors 5Ks and employer breakfast meetings in cities around the country to help teach communities about opioid addiction.
Much of the perception about addiction has changed nationally since Shatterproof began. A majority of Americans now believe that addiction is a disease, according to an April 2018 Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll1 More than 1 in 10 Americans have had a family member or close friend die from an opioid overdose, the same poll reported.1
Cigna remains committed to the fight against opioid addiction. In 2018, Cigna achieved a 25% reduction in opioid use among customers in just two years.2 A Shatterproof press release noted that Cigna “partnered with more than 1.1 million prescribing clinicians to achieve this goal one year ahead of schedule. Cigna collaborated with physicians, dentists, patient awareness, and support organizations in local communities to improve the prescribing of opioids and make it easier for people to access treatments for substance use disorders.”
“I applaud Cigna’s commitment to curbing the opioid epidemic by reducing the overprescribing,” Gary Mendell, Founder of Shatterproof, said in a statement, “Improving opioid stewardship is critical to reducing patient harm and preventing substance use disorders. Cigna’s achievement shows what is possible when insurers and providers work together to end this crisis, and we are hopeful that their work will inspire other groups to make similar changes.”
Cigna also announced plans to help reduce opioid overdoses over the next two years in major markets around the nation where Cigna has a presence. Shatterproof and Cigna both agree that having the proper information is an important step in confronting substance use disorder and working together to win the battle against opioid addiction.
Visit shatterproof.org to learn more about their mission to help end addiction.
1 Poll: Most Americans see drug addiction as a disease, Salt Lake Tribune, April 2018, Poll: Most Americans see drug addiction as a disease
2 Cigna’s Partnership with Physicians Successfully Reduces Opioid Use by 25 Percent - One Year Ahead of Goal, Cigna, March 2018, Cigna’s Partnership with Physicians Successfully Reduces Opioid Use by 25 Percent - One Year Ahead of Goal