Dive Brief:
- Cigna has promoted three company officials to its enterprise leadership team (ELT), effective immediately.
- Eric Palmer, current deputy chief financial officer, will become Cigna's new Chief Financial Officer when Thomas McCarthy retires this summer.
- Also, ELT member and Chief Marketing Officer Lisa Bacus, who oversees global marketing, will take over U.S. service operations under the new title of chief marketing and customs officer.
Dive Insight:
New appointees to the ELT include Alan Muney, who continues in his role as chief medical officer, and former President of regional markets Michael Triplett, who is now president of U.S. markets. Its latest financial report shows Cigna's revenues grew by 5% in 2016 from 2015, though CEO David Cordania criticized the ACA's individual market and said it is "fragile at best."
The company continues to be embroiled in court over its failed $54 million merger with Anthem. Last week, the health insurance giant filed a lawsuit against Anthem seeking a declaratory judgment that Cigna had lawfully terminated the merger agreement and more than $13 billion in damages plus a $1.85 breakup fee.
However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia granted Anthem’s motion for a speedy appeal last week that seeks to overturn the court ruling that blocked the merger on antitrust grounds. This came on the heels of a Delaware judge’s temporary restraining order preventing Cigna from abandoning the deal as had been requested in a the lawsuit filed by Anthem.
The other two health insurance giants that had their proposed merger challenged in court with an antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice last July – Aetna and Humana – are rethinking strategies. But these two companies are more focused on adjusting their capital after they both mutually agreed to drop their plans.