Cigna, HelloFresh strike partnership on healthy meal choices

Photo: Kseniya Ovchinnikova/Getty Images

Cigna Healthcare, the health benefits division of the Cigna Group, and meal kit company HelloFresh are collaborating to offer discounted access to the latter's meals to as many as 12 million Cigna Healthcare customers, through their employers.

The two companies will also team up to support HelloFresh's Meals with Meaning program, a social impact initiative that provides free meal kits for individuals experiencing food insecurity in local communities.

Cigna Healthcare employer clients can choose from a variety of HelloFresh offerings with no minimum purchase amount. Employees can then choose among the options provided, which may include e-gift cards for employees, discounted meal kit subscriptions, and one-time box deliveries to employees' doorsteps with no subscription required.

Each HelloFresh delivery includes all of the pre-portioned ingredients and step-by-step instructions to make meals.

HelloFresh said the initiative can help employers better cultivate a stronger workforce through affordable, healthy meals.

WHAT'S THE IMPACT?

One in three U.S. workers reported experiencing food insecurity within the past three months, according to the Cigna Group's 2023 Vitality in America research, and six in 10 Americans have at least one chronic disease, which can be exacerbated by unhealthy diets. These diet-related chronic diseases account for nearly 20% of all U.S. healthcare costs annually.

In December 2023, Cigna Healthcare and its health equity team collaborated with select employer clients located in underserved communities to deliver nearly 3,500 HelloFresh meals to their employees around the holidays. Dedicated efforts were managed by Cigna Healthcare's wellbeing coordinators, some of whom are registered dietitians.

"Healthy eating is an important part of our total well-being strategy, which is designed to help employees live and work their best," said Terrence R. Moore, city manager at City of Delray Beach. "We invest in our employees by providing educational opportunities to learn more about nutrition including healthy cooking classes, increasing access to fresh fruit with city-wide workplace deliveries, and are currently considering healthy vending options.

"Our employees were surprised and delighted to receive HelloFresh meal kits over the holidays, and we know from their positive feedback that it made it easier for employees and their families to eat well, stress less, and maintain their health during the busy holiday season," said Moore.

THE LARGER TREND

Cigna and Humana called off their merger talks in December after failing to agree on a price.

A little over a month later, Cigna entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Medicare Advantage, Supplemental Benefits, Medicare Part D and CareAllies businesses to Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) for about $3.7 billion.

As part of the transaction, the Cigna Group and HCSC have agreed to enter into a four-year services agreement under which Evernorth Health Services, a subsidiary of Cigna, will continue to provide pharmacy benefit services to the Medicare businesses when the transaction closes.

ON THE RECORD

"We're excited to team up with Cigna Healthcare to make fresh and wholesome HelloFresh meal kits available as a healthcare benefit," said Adam Kalikow, senior vice president and managing director, Meal Kits at HelloFresh U.S. "This partnership emphasizes the important role that home cooking plays in supporting consumers' overall health and well-being. Together with Cigna Healthcare, we're making HelloFresh meal kits even more accessible while working together to combat food insecurity in our local communities."
 

Jeff Lagasse is editor of Healthcare Finance News.
Email: jlagasse@himss.org
Healthcare Finance News is a HIMSS Media publication.