Interview: Jason Sadler, President, International Health at Cigna Healthcare

You’ve worked in the business for 14 years. What first attracted you to Cigna Healthcare?

I’ve always admired Cigna’s proactive approach to improving health and wellbeing and was absolutely thrilled when I was offered the chance to head up Cigna’s global operations. Cigna’s global reach continues to astound me, as I see examples of the difference we make in people’s lives every day – often in remote corners of the world. I’m a true believer in our mission to safeguard people’s health and empower them to make the best choices for enhancing their vitality.

As President of International Health at Cigna, what are some of your key responsibilities?

It’s my job to realise our global mission: helping improve the health and vitality of people around the world. I oversee our operations in more than 30 markets and jurisdictions, serving individual customers and employer groups. This covers a total of 1.6 million customer relationships, including locals and globally mobile individuals.

Fortunately, I can count on over 13,000 incredibly talented colleagues to achieve our goals, as well as our 1.7 million global relationships with healthcare providers, clinics, and facilities. A key part of my job is to ensure that we continue to develop our talent pool and nurture this extensive network of provider partners.

Cigna recently launched a new wellbeing initiative called Your Health Plan, Your Growth Plan. With burnout on the rise, how will this help to support employee wellbeing?

This campaign aims to raise awareness about the close connection between people’s health and business growth. The truth is very simple: healthier and happier employees perform better at work. Our research shows that employees with high vitality perform up to 60% better, and that the human cost of poor health directly impacts business productivity. This is also borne out by World Health Organization (WHO) data showing the massive business cost of poor health.

Our insights can help employers understand the need to invest in their people’s health and the benefits of doing so. To make that vision a reality, our campaign provides practical support to shape and develop health plans that complement the employer’s overall business strategy.

Recent research from Cigna suggests that health plans are critical to culture and talent but too few employees use the benefits. How can employers ensure that they provide benefits plans that meet the needs of their workforce?

It’s essential that these kinds of benefits match employee needs, and that they’re communicated clearly and regularly to the whole organisation. Uptake is a measure of staff engagement, not just with their organisation’s health and wellbeing plan, but with their health in general.

Our research shows that employees with high vitality perform up to 60% better, and that the human cost of poor health directly impacts business productivity

We are continually advising clients on ways to broadcast the benefits they offer to their people. Organisations need to see this as a key employee value proposition – a vital part of attracting and retaining talent. Ultimately, the health plan needs to be embedded as an essential element of a healthy corporate culture.