Cigna Group Q1 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Lisa Gill - JPMorgan Chase & Co. - Analyst : I wanted to start first with weight loss. We saw a competitor yesterday signed a deal with Novo. I'm just curious around what you're seeing on the opportunity to be able to negotiate a better price with either of the large GLP-1 players in the marketplace? And then two, you talked about 9 million people enrolled in the program, but can you talk about general coverage from an employer or ASO perspective, is there a big opportunity if we start to see materially better pricing? And then just lastly, David, I have to sneak this one in here. I just really would love to hear your thoughts on Arkansas and the legislation. And I believe you have a large pharmacy benefit relationship with one of the large employers in that state. So if you could give some color around that as well.

Question: A.J. Rice - UBS - Analyst : Thanks for the comments about GLP-1s. I wonder if I could broaden it out a little bit. Obviously, there's a little bit more of an unsettled economic environment. I guess there's always some variability every time this year. But as you start to have discussions, obviously, you're well into the PBM selling season and you're gearing up to talk about benefit design with your commercial clients and the broader healthcare coverage, what are you seeing in terms of where they're focused and things that they're asking you about? And I wondered in an unsettled in the economic environment, does that tend to drive more of that select market toward your product? Or does it make them pause on making a change like that?

Question: Justin Lake - Wolfe Research - Analyst : I wanted to follow up on the Stop Loss discussion. I was hoping you might be able to give us a little more detail in terms of what you're seeing in terms of cost trend in your commercial book, but specifically in the Stop Loss business relative to what you saw kind of pressure you in the fourth quarter? And then any early kind of feedback from the customer community as you're starting to work on getting that book reprice for 2026? I know you're trying to target 100 -- getting it fully back in terms of the margin that you lost last year, but you buy it to something a little bit less than that. Curious how you're seeing that kind of run through.

Question: Charles Rhyee - TD Cowen - Analyst : Just wanted to follow up maybe on Arkansas for a second. What is the recourse for companies like Cigna and other companies that operate both PBMs and pharmacies in this case maybe mail order Specialty Pharmacy because I think, obviously, the bigger question is perceptions of potential conflicts of interest of having these kind of entities joined together, and obviously there's a lot of different proposals, both in Congress and across many states, trying to address this through things like greater transparency. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MAY 02, 2025 / 12:30PM, CI.N - Q1 2025 Cigna Group Earnings Call And I appreciate that you guys have been moving forward in trying to provide greater transparency, but what in your view are some of the more simple steps that could be done to maybe assuage some of these concerns about potential conflicts of interest that doesn't have to go all the way to what Arkansas has tried to do here? And then if I could just quickly add also if Quallent has launched biosimilar STELARA would be great. Thanks.

Question: Ann Hynes - Mizuho Securities - Analyst : Just on the capital deployment front. I know you've said in the past that bolt-on M&A is your priority. Is that still the case? And on that front, is there any capability that you think you need either in the health insurance segment or venues that you need to that you need to invest into organically or inorganically?

Question: Andrew Mok - Barclays - Analyst : As the Part D market evolves alongside the IRA, curious to hear what your experience has been on the Evernorth side of the business. Can you comment on any manufacturer or member behavior changes that you're seeing in the market? And relatedly, are you seeing a pickup in specialty or high-cost brand scripts from the Part D program that were previously served directly through a patient assistance program?

Question: Erin Wright - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Could you describe a little bit more about EnReach as well as the EnGuide pharmacy rollout and what these initiatives entail and the economics for Cigna? And just on the GLP-1 strategy, the category is unique, but what are the tools -- or how are the tools different compared to what was deployed across historically PCSK9s, Hep C? I guess, how do you compare? Or how is this different in terms of the strategy to address drug cost and across your customer base?

Question: Josh Raskin - Nephron Research - Analyst : Just quick clarification. What percentage of your Select segment actually takes Stop Loss with the ASO versus a full risk solution. And then my bigger question is just in the past, you've spoken about the disrupted environment for Medicare Advantage. And I'd be curious to get your thoughts on the segment currently and perhaps how the 2026 rate notice is impacting your forward view with an understanding, obviously, that you're no longer in the business as of 1.5 months ago.