Precision support for 15 diverse conditions – including HIV

Around-the-clock support for specialty conditions is not just nice to have, it’s necessary. The Accredo Therapeutic Resource Center^® (TRC) model is always ready to offer essential support and guidance for those taking life-changing and life-saving specialty medications to treat complex conditions. And these TRCs are available for all Cigna customers who receive specialty medications through Accredo^® , Cigna's specialty pharmacy.

Access to the TRCs is standard, at no additional cost to clients or customers.
There are 15 TRCs, each focused on a specific condition – examples include asthma, cancer, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and multiple sclerosis. Each is equipped with a team of specialty-trained clinicians. They bring a wealth of knowledge that’s concentrated on each condition – helping customers and providers through the prior authorization process and advising on topics like medication administration, adherence and side-effect management.

TRCs work closely with customers to discover and overcome challenges.
The TRCs maintain open lines of communication. Team members are ready to answer the phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Each interaction reflects discretion and respect for the customer’s privacy. However, the availability and considerate support offered by the TRC clinicians is not the only thing that makes them so valuable. It is their drive to anticipate customer needs and help conquer adherence challenges – that might otherwise lead to hospitalizations or costly waste.

The HIV TRC exemplifies just how customers can benefit from condition-specific guidance – 90% adherence is standard for customers using this TRC.¹
Adherence is key to treatment and prevention for customers on an HIV medication regimen. And that’s where the HIV TRC focuses. The first way we do this is by promoting generic therapies to keep costs low. Another way is by supporting a simplified single-tablet regimen, when indicated by the prior authorization process.

• Adherence is 10% higher in HIV patients taking single-tablet regimens vs. multi-tablet.²
• Adherence increased by 21% for customers new to HIV therapy, per an analysis of a single-tablet regimen approach, one year after initiating it.³
• A single-tablet regimen means lower costs – $2,995 in lower total medical costs and $4,366 in lower total pharmacy costs per patient.³

The HIV TRC also assists customers at high risk for HIV.
Customers determined to be at high risk for HIV infection may take a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication to help prevent it. The HIV TRC strives to understand and overcome the many adherence challenges patients taking a PrEP drug may face. They’re affected by factors like stigma, low risk perception, medication side effects, ineffective or inaccurate education about adherence, and the logistics of daily life.⁴

• Cigna and the HIV TRC realize that 400K Americans could be diagnosed with HIV over the next 10 years without intervention.⁵ High adherence is especially important to help reduce the risk of transmission.
• Tracking adherence history helps maintain adherence going forward. For patients on PrEP therapy, the HIV TRC team has access to their adherence history and analytics. This helps clarify the patient’s unique challenges and trigger appropriate outreach to help.
• Cigna recognizes that medication costs can be a barrier to adherence – Future advances in HIV medication administration and the cost of new therapies will continue to impact overall specialty spend.

TRCs successfully connect customers to available financial resources.
Costs related to treating a complex chronic condition are an unavoidable reality. However, the TRC teams understand that a customer’s focus should remain on their health, rather than worrying about expenses. Customers worries may include unpaid bills, how they’ll manage time away from work during recovery from surgery, or how they’ll be able to pay for and remain adherent to all their prescribed medications.

TRC financial support has resulted in $6.3B in specialty pharmacy program savings, including $2B+ in therapy management cost avoidance – of benefit to both clients and customers.³

LEARN MORE:
Cigna and Accredo Therapeutic Resource Centers client flyer (general version)
Cigna and Accredo Therapeutic Resource Centers client flyer (HIV version)

1. Fixed period Proportion of Days Covered (PDC) 89.9% – Express Scripts Integrated Book of Business. Measurement period - 12 months ending: 6/30/2021. Excludes blocked clients.
2. Viral Signs U.S. trends in HIV medication use, care and cost. An Express Scripts Report. November 2018.
3. Accredo Book of Business data. 2020.
4. David Sidebottom, Anna Mia Ekstrom and Susanne Stromdah. A systematic review of adherence to oral pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV – how can we improve uptake and adherence? National Library of Medicine. National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubMed.gov. https://pubmed.ncbi.nim.nih.gov/30445925/. 2018. Accessed August 23, 2021.
5. HIV in America. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HIV.gov. https://www.hiv.gov/federal-responses/ending-the-hiv-epidemic/overview. Accessed August 23, 2021.