Cigna Group - Annual Report: 2019 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the transition period from ______________ to ______________

Commission file number 001-38769

Cigna Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 28, 2019 was approximately $59.4 billion.

As of January 31, 2020, 372,043,094 shares of the registrant’s Common Stock were outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Part III of this Form 10-K incorporates by reference information from the registrant’s definitive proxy statement related to the 2020 annual meeting of shareholders.

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on Cigna’s current expectations and projections about future trends, events and uncertainties. These statements are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements may include, among others, statements concerning future financial or operating performance, including our ability to deliver affordable, personalized and innovative solutions for our customers and clients; future growth, business strategy, strategic or operational initiatives, including our organizational efficiency plan; economic, regulatory or competitive environments, particularly with respect to the pace and extent of change in these areas; financing or capital deployment plans and amounts available for future deployment; our prospects for growth in the coming years; strategic transactions, including the merger (“Merger”) with Express Scripts Holding Company and the sale of our Group Disability and Life business; and other statements regarding Cigna’s future beliefs, expectations, plans, intentions, financial condition or performance. You may identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “believe,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “may,” “should,” “will” or other words or expressions of similar meaning, although not all forward-looking statements contain such terms.

Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: our ability to achieve our financial, strategic and operational plans or initiatives; our ability to predict and manage medical and pharmacy costs and price effectively; our ability to adapt to changes or trends in an evolving and rapidly changing industry; our ability to effectively differentiate our products and services from those of our competitors and maintain or increase market share; our ability to develop and maintain good relationships with physicians, hospitals, other health care providers, producers, consultants and pharmaceutical manufacturers; changes in the pharmacy provider marketplace or pharmacy networks; changes in drug pricing; the impact of modifications to our operations and processes; our ability to identify potential strategic acquisitions or transactions and realize the expected benefits (including anticipated synergies) of such transactions in full or within the anticipated time frame, including with respect to the Merger and sale of our Group Disability and Life business, as well as our ability to integrate or separate operations, resources and systems; the substantial level of government regulation over our business and the potential effects of new laws or regulations or changes in existing laws or regulations; the outcome of litigation, regulatory audits, investigations, actions or guaranty fund assessments; uncertainties surrounding participation in government-sponsored programs such as Medicare; the effectiveness and security of our information technology and other business systems and those of our key suppliers or other third parties; the impact of our debt service obligations on the availability of funds for other business purposes; unfavorable industry, economic or political conditions, including foreign currency movements; acts of civil unrest, war, terrorism, natural disasters or pandemics; reinsurance credit risk; as well as more specific risks and uncertainties discussed in Part I, Item 1A – Risk Factors and Part II, Item 7 – Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of this Form 10-K and as described from time to time in our future reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made, are not guarantees of future performance or results, and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict or quantify. Cigna undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

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PART I

Item 1. BUSINESS

OVERVIEW

Cigna Corporation, together with its subsidiaries (either individually or collectively referred to as “Cigna,” the “Company,” “we,” “our” or “us”) is a global health service organization.

Cigna is an enterprise uniquely capable of delivering affordability, predictability and simplicity of health care to those we serve. We have broad and deep capabilities that accelerate our strategy to achieve our mission of improving the health, well-being and peace of mind of those we serve. Cigna’s employees are champions for the people we serve and over the past decade, our focus has shifted to helping people thrive by offering solutions to prevent and better manage health challenges. When sickness or disability do occur, we support our customers’ ability to have broad choices in how they best access high quality, affordable care. We see three primary ways to help individuals maintain, improve or recover their physical or mental health: 1) behavioral and lifestyle changes – with over 1,000 health coaches helping individuals set and meet health goals; 2) pharmaceutical interventions – with our leading pharmacy services improving health and driving affordability; and 3) medical and surgical interventions – with a clear and proven strategy around partnerships and value-based care programs, powered by applied informatics and aligned incentives. We maximize use of evidence-based care, while delivering best-in-class quality of care for our customers with acute and chronic conditions through enhanced real-time data across an expanded platform with industry-leading solutions to support care decisions.

We offer a differentiated set of pharmacy, medical, behavioral, dental, disability, life and accident insurance and related products and services. Our capabilities include: 1) a broad portfolio of specialty services, some of which can be offered on a stand-alone basis; 2) integrated behavioral, medical and pharmacy management services; 3) leading specialty pharmacy expertise; and 4) advanced analytics that help us engage more meaningfully with individuals, plan sponsors we serve and our provider partners. These capabilities enhance Cigna’s ability to drive improved cost affordability, quality of care and predictability.

We put medicine within reach for patients and help providers improve access to prescription drugs by making them more affordable. We improve patient outcomes and better manage the cost of the pharmacy benefit by:

Identifying products and offering innovative solutions that improve patient outcomes and control costs

Evaluating medicines for efficacy, value and price to assist clients in selecting a cost-effective formulary

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Offering home delivery and specialty services that save money for clients and customers while providing better and specialized clinical care

Leveraging purchasing volume to deliver discounts drive risk-sharing and value-based care across the pharmaceutical supply chain

Promoting the use of generics and lowest cost, clinically effective brands of medications

We work with key stakeholders across the health care system to improve health outcomes and patient satisfaction, increase efficiency in drug distribution and manage costs of the pharmacy benefit. In 2019, we launched three major initiatives: 1) the Patient Assurance^SM program that offers diabetic customers a low, fixed monthly out-of-pocket cost for insulin; 2) the Embarc Benefit Protection^SM program that improves care, access and affordability for potentially life-changing medicines that are extremely costly and 3) our Digital Health Formulary that helps clients and customers get the most value from innovative digital health products. Plan sponsors and participants can achieve the best health and financial outcomes when they use our comprehensive set of solutions to manage drug spend.

We present the financial results of our businesses in the following segments:

Health Services includes pharmacy benefits management, specialty pharmacy services, clinical solutions, home delivery and health management services.

Integrated Medical offers a variety of health care solutions to employers and individuals.

The Commercial operating segment serves employers (also referred to as “clients”) and their employees (also referred to as “customers”) and other groups. This segment provides deeply integrated medical and specialty offerings including medical, pharmacy, behavioral health, dental, vision, health advocacy programs and other products and services to insured and self-insured clients.

The Government operating segment offers Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, and Medicare Part D plans (including the acquired Express Scripts’ Medicare Part D business) for seniors, Medicaid plans and individual health insurance coverage both on and off the public exchanges.

International Markets includes supplemental health, life and accident insurance products and health care coverage in our international markets as well as health care benefits to globally mobile employees of multinational organizations.

Group Disability and Other contains the remainder of our business operations, consisting of the following:

Group Disability and Life provides group long-term and short-term disability, group life, accident, voluntary and specialty insurance products and related services.

Corporate-Owned Life Insurance (“COLI”) offers permanent insurance contracts sold to corporations to provide coverage on the lives of certain employees for financing employer-paid future benefit obligations.

Run-off businesses:

Reinsurance: predominantly comprised of guaranteed minimum death benefit (“GMDB”) and guaranteed minimum income benefit (“GMIB”) business effectively exited through reinsurance with Berkshire Hathaway Life Insurance Company of Nebraska (“Berkshire”) in 2013.

Settlement Annuity business in run-off.

Individual Life Insurance and Annuity and Retirement Benefits Businesses: comprised of deferred gains from the sales of these businesses.

Other Information

The financial information included in this Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 is in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) unless otherwise indicated. In the segment discussions that follow, we use the terms “adjusted revenues” and “pre-tax adjusted income from operations” to describe segment results. See the introduction to the Management Discussion and Analysis section of this Form 10-K for definitions of those terms. Industry rankings and percentages set forth herein are for the year ended December 31, 2019 unless otherwise indicated. In addition, statements set forth in this document concerning our rank or position in an industry or particular line of business have been developed internally based on publicly available information unless otherwise noted.

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Cigna Holding Company (formerly Cigna Corporation) was incorporated in Delaware in 1981. Halfmoon Parent, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware in March 2018. Halfmoon Parent, Inc. was renamed Cigna Corporation concurrent with the consummation of the combination with Express Scripts on December 20, 2018.

You can access our website at http://www.cigna.com to learn more about our company. We make annual, quarterly and current reports and proxy statements and amendments to those reports available, free of charge through our website (http://www.cigna.com, under the “Investors—Quarterly Reports and SEC Filings” captions) as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file these materials with, or furnish them to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). We also use our website as a means of disclosing material information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under the SEC’s Regulation FD (Fair Disclosure). Important information, including news releases, analyst presentations and financial information regarding Cigna is routinely posted on and accessible at http://www.cigna.com. Accordingly, investors should monitor the Investor Relations portion of our website, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, our website is neither incorporated by reference into nor a part of this report. See also “Code of Ethics and Other Corporate Governance Disclosures” in Part III, Item 10 of this Form 10-K for additional information regarding the availability of our Codes of Ethics on our website.

HEALTH SERVICES

This segment consists of pharmacy benefit management, home delivery and specialty pharmacy and certain health management services. In 2019, Health Services reported adjusted revenues of $96.4 billion and pre-tax adjusted income from operations of $5.1 billion.

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The following chart depicts a high-level summary of our principal products and services in this segment with definitions on subsequent pages.

Principal Products & Services

Pharmacy Benefit Management Services: Our services drive high-quality, cost-effective care through prescription drug utilization and cost management. We support our clients’ plan design selections to deliver balanced affordability, choice, simplicity and convenience. We focus our solutions to align with our clients’ needs across care, cost and service. As a result, we believe we deliver better outcomes, higher customer satisfaction and a more affordable prescription drug benefit. The home delivery pharmacy operations of our Health Services segment consist of eight order processing pharmacies, eight patient contact centers and four high-volume automated home delivery dispensing pharmacies located throughout the United States. Health Services’ home delivery dispensing pharmacies are located in Arizona, Indiana, Missouri and New Jersey. Health Services also has seven specialty home delivery pharmacies and 38 specialty branch pharmacies.

Pharmacy Dispensing:

oHome Delivery Pharmacy Services: In addition to the order processing that occurs at our home delivery pharmacies, we operate several non-dispensing prescription processing facilities and customer contact centers. Our pharmacies provide greater safety and accuracy than retail pharmacies, convenient access to maintenance medications and better management of our clients’ drug costs through operating efficiencies. We are directly involved with the prescriber and customer through our home delivery pharmacies and our research shows that we achieve a higher level of generic substitutions, therapeutic interventions and better adherence than is achieved through retail pharmacy networks.

oSpecialty Pharmacy Services: Specialty medications are used primarily for the treatment of complex diseases. These medications are broadly characterized to include those with frequent dosing adjustments, intensive clinical monitoring, the need for customer training, specialized product administration requirements or medications limited to certain specialty pharmacy networks by manufacturers. Through a combination of assets and capabilities, we provide an enhanced level of predictable care and therapy management for customers taking specialty medications and increased visibility and improved outcomes for payors, as well as custom programs for biopharmaceutical manufacturers. Accredo Health Group (“Accredo”) is focused on dispensing injectable, infused, oral or inhaled drugs that require a higher level of clinical service and support than traditional pharmacies typically offer. Accredo supports successful outcomes for c

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ustomers and reduces waste for clients through specialty trained clinicians, a nationwide footprint, and a network of in-home nursing services, reimbursement and customer assistance programs and biopharmaceutical services.

oDrug Claim Adjudication: We process drug claims for home delivery, specialty, or retail networks by integrating retail network pharmacy administration, benefit design consultation, drug utilization review, drug formulary management and pharmacy fulfillment services. We administer payments to retail networks and bill benefits costs to our clients through our end-to-end adjudication services.

oDrug Utilization Review program: When pharmacies submit claims for prescription drugs to us, we review them electronically in real time for health and safety. We then alert the dispensing pharmacy of any detected issues. Clients may also choose to enroll in programs that result in communications about potential therapy concerns being sent to prescribers after the initial claim submission.

Supply Chain Administration and Management:

oRetail Network Pharmacy Administration: We contract with retail pharmacies to provide prescription drugs to customers of the pharmacy benefit plans we manage. In the United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, we negotiate with pharmacies to discount drug prices provided to customers and manage national and regional networks responsive to client preferences related to cost containment, convenience of access for customers and network performance. We also manage networks of pharmacies customized for or under direct contract with specific clients and have contracted with pharmacy provider networks to comply with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) access requirements for the federal Medicare Part D prescription drug program (“Medicare Part D”). All retail pharmacies in our network communicate with us online and in real-time to process prescription drug claims. When a plan customer presents their identification card at a network pharmacy, the pharmacy sends specific customer, prescriber and prescription information in an industry-standard format through our systems, which process the claim and respond to the pharmacy with relevant information to process the prescription.

oBenefits Design Consultation: We consult with our clients on how best to structure and leverage the pharmacy benefit to meet plan objectives for affordable access to the prescription medications people need to stay healthy, and ensure the safe and effective use of those medications.

oDrug Formulary Management: Formularies are lists of drugs with designations that may be used to determine drug coverage, customer out-of-pocket costs and communicate plan preferences in competitive drug categories. Our formulary management services support clients in establishing formularies that assist customers and physicians in choosing clinically-appropriate, cost-effective drugs and prioritize access, safety and affordability. We administer specific formularies on behalf of our clients, including standard formularies developed and offered by Express Scripts and custom formularies in which we play a more limited role. Most of our clients select standard formularies, governed by our National Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee comprised of a panel of independent physicians and pharmacists in active clinical practice representing a variety of specialties and practice settings, typically with major academic affiliations. In making formulary recommendations, this committee considers only the drug’s safety and efficacy and not the cost of the drug, including any negotiated manufacturer discount or rebate arrangement. This process is designed to ensure the clinical recommendation is not affected by our financial arrangements. We fully comply with this committee’s clinical recommendations regarding drugs that must be included or excluded from the formulary based on their assessment of safety and efficacy.

oAdministration of Group Purchasing Organizations: Express Scripts operates various group purchasing organizations that negotiate pricing for the purchase of pharmaceuticals, fees and formulary rebates with pharmaceutical manufacturers on behalf of their participants. They also provide various administrative services to their participants including management and reporting.

Clinical Solutions: We offer innovative clinical programs to help our clients drive better health outcomes at a lower cost by identifying and addressing potentially unsafe or wasteful prescribing, dispensing and use of prescription drugs and communicating with, or supporting communications with, physicians, pharmacies and customers.

oOur Health Connect 360 ^SM offering is a transformational, outcomes based clinical management program that bridges pharmacy, medical, lab and patient engagement data to develop insights and deliver personalized health care interventions. Clinical outcomes and quality metrics are tailored to client needs and guaranteed.

oThrough the Express Scripts Digital Health Formulary^SM offering, we evaluate digital health solutions available on the market, providing a list to clients of solutions that provide clinical effectiveness, data security, user-friendly experience and financial value.

oAdvanced Utilization Management programs are the number-one tool for decreasing client spend on pharmacy. These include prior authorization, drug quantity management, step therapy and preferred specialty management.

oEnhanced Fraud, Waste & Abuse is an investigative service program that helps plan sponsors identify potential problem customers and prescribers with unusual or excessive utilization patterns. The program is designed to help identify outliers and situations of abnormal use or prescribing patterns by analyzing types of prescriptions, refill patterns and pharmacy utilization.

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Other solutions include RationalMed^®, ScreenRx^®, ExpressAlliance^®, Advanced Opioid Management^®, and OnePA^SM offerings, as well as Medication Therapy and Medical Benefit Drug Management.

Value-Based Programs:

oSafeGuardRx^®: We offer a solution platform aimed at therapy classes that pose significant budgetary threats and clinical challenges to patients. Our solutions are designed to keep our clients ahead of the cost curve while providing customers the personalized care and access they need. These solutions are offered throughout our pharmacy benefit management services and include, but are not limited to care for: cardiovascular, diabetes, hepatitis, inflammatory conditions, migraine, multiple sclerosis, oncology, pulmonary, and rare conditions. Innovative programs, such as our SafeGuardRx program, combine utilization management controls with formulary management, the specialized care model of our Therapeutic Resource Center^® program and comprehensive guarantees, and help us to change the market in key categories. Through our Therapeutic Resource Center^® offering, we provide caring for customers with the most complex and costly chronic conditions including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, HIV, asthma, depression and other rare and specialty conditions. These services optimize the safe and appropriate dispensing of therapeutic agents, minimize waste and improve clinical and financial outcomes. Through these services, specialist pharmacists provide the expert, personalized care that customers increasingly demand. Notably, our programs covering oncology and inflammatory conditions have introduced a value-based contracting approach with payments now tied to a product’s effectiveness.

oPatient Assurance Program^SM: This program addresses the need for greater affordability and access to insulin by providing a fixed out-of-pocket cost to customers in non-government funded benefit plans.

oEmbarc Benefit Protection^SM: This program combines health benefit management, health services and specialty pharmacy capabilities to make emerging gene therapy treatments more affordable for the payor, the employer and the patient.

Provider Services:  CuraScript SD is a specialty distributor of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies (including injectable and infusible pharmaceuticals and medications to treat specialty and rare or orphan diseases) directly to health care providers, clinics and hospitals in the United States for office or clinic administration. Through this business, we provide distribution services primarily to office and clinic-based physicians who treat customers with chronic diseases and regularly order costly specialty pharmaceuticals. This business provides competitive pricing on pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, operates three distribution centers and ships most products overnight within the United States; it also provides distribution capabilities to Puerto Rico and Guam. It is a contracted supplier with most major group purchasing organizations and leverages our distribution platform to operate as a third-party logistics provider for several pharmaceutical companies.

Health Benefit Management Services:  eviCore is a leading provider of integrated health benefit management solutions that focus on driving adherence to evidence-based guidelines, improving the quality of patient outcomes and reducing the cost of care for our clients. eviCore manages: diagnostic imaging, comprehensive musculoskeletal disorders, sleep disorders, post-acute care, genetic lab, specialty pharmacy and medical oncology. eviCore contracts with health plans and other commercial and government payors to promote the appropriate use of health care services by the customers they serve. In certain instances, this occurs through capitated risk arrangements, when we assume the financial obligation for the cost of health care services provided to eligible customers covered by eviCore health care management programs.

Customers

Clients: We provide services to managed care organizations, health insurers, third-party administrators, employers, union-sponsored benefit plans, workers’ compensation plans, government health programs, providers, clinics, hospitals and others.

Patients: Prescription drugs are dispensed to patients connected to the service offerings we provide to clients. Prescription drugs are dispensed primarily through networks of retail pharmacies under non-exclusive contracts with us and through our home delivery and specialty drug fulfillment pharmacies.

The Department of Defense’s TRICARE® Pharmacy Program is the military health care program serving active-duty service customers, National Guard and Reserve customers and retirees, as well as their dependents. Under this contract, we provide online claims adjudication, home delivery services, specialty pharmacy clinical services, claims processing and contact center support and other services critical to managing pharmacy trend. In 2019, revenues from this contract were significant to the segment.

On January 30, 2019, Anthem, Inc. (“Anthem”) exercised its right to early termination of its pharmacy benefit management services agreement, effective March 1, 2019. As of December 31, 2019, the transition of customers is substantially complete. For further discussion of our Anthem relationship, see the “Executive Summary – Key Transactions and Business Developments” section of our MD&A located in Part II, Item 7 of the Form 10-K. In 2019, Anthem revenues were significant to the segment.

In December 2019, Express Scripts and Prime Therapeutics LLC (“Prime”) announced a three-year agreement designed to deliver care for Prime’s clients and their patients by enhancing pharmacy networks and pharmaceutical manufacturer value.

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Competition

The health care industry has undergone periods of substantial consolidation and may continue to consolidate in the future. We believe the primary competitive factors in the industry include the ability to: negotiate with retail pharmacies to ensure our retail pharmacy networks meet the needs of our clients and customers; provide home delivery and specialty pharmacy services; negotiate discounts and rebates on prescription drugs with drug manufacturers; navigate the complexities of government-reimbursed business including Medicare, Medicaid and the public exchanges; manage cost and quality of specialty drugs; use the information we obtain about drug utilization patterns and consumer behavior to reduce costs for our clients and customers and the level of service we provide.

Managed Care PBMs: CVS Caremark (owned by CVS Health Corporation), Envision Rx (owned by Rite Aid Corporation), Humana, IngenioRx (owned by Anthem), Optum (owned by UnitedHealth Group Inc.) and Prime Therapeutics (owned by a collection of Blue Cross / Blue Shield Plans) compete with us on a variety of products and in various regions throughout the United States.

Independent PBMs: MedImpact and Navitus Health Solutions compete with us on a variety of products and in various regions throughout the United States.

Retail Pharmacies: CVS Caremark, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. and WalMart, Inc.

Third-Party Benefits Administrators: Third parties that specialize in claim adjudication and benefit administration, such as Argus, are direct competitors. With the emergence of alternative benefit models through Private Exchanges, the competitive landscape also includes brokers, health plans and consultants. Some of these competitors may deploy greater financial, marketing and technological resources than we do and new market entrants, including strategic alliances aimed at modifying the current health care delivery models or entering the prescription drug sector from another sector of the health care industry, may increase competition as barriers to entry are relatively low.

Clinical Solutions and Health Care Data Analytics Companies: OptumRx (owned by UnitedHealth Group Inc.), Anthem, Magellan Health, HealthHelp, Cotiviti, and Inovalon are among the companies that compete with us in this market.

Operations

Sales and Account Management: Our sales and account management teams market and sell pharmacy benefit management solutions and are supported by client service representatives, clinical pharmacy managers and benefit analysis consultants. These teams work with clients to develop innovative strategies that put medicine within reach of customers while helping health benefit providers improve access to and affordability of prescription drugs.

Supply Chain: Our supply chain contracting and strategy teams negotiate and manage pharmacy network contracts, pharmaceutical and wholesaler purchasing contracts and manufacturer rebate contracts. As our clients continue to experience increased cost trends, our supply chain teams develop innovative solutions such as our SafeGuardRx program and narrow networks to combat these cost increases. In addition, our Formulary Consulting team, consisting of pharmacists and financial analysts, provides services to our clients to support formulary decisions, benefit design consultation and utilization management programs.

Clinical Support: Our staff of highly trained health care professionals provides clinical support for our pharmacy benefit management and health benefit management services, including more specialized care for customers with select chronic and complex conditions. We operate condition-specific Therapeutic Resource Center facilities staffed with specialist pharmacists, nurses and other clinicians who provide personal and specialized customer care. Our clinical solutions staff of pharmacists and physicians provides clinical development and operational support for our pharmacy benefit management services. These health care providers conduct a wide range of activities including identifying emerging medication-related safety issues and alerting physicians, clients, and customers (as appropriate); providing drug information services; managing formulary; and developing utilization management, safety (drug utilization review) and other clinical interventions.

Suppliers

We maintain an inventory of brand-name and generic pharmaceuticals in our home delivery and specialty pharmacies. Our specialty pharmacies also carry biopharmaceutical products to meet the needs of our customers, including pharmaceuticals for the treatment of rare or chronic diseases; if a drug is not in our inventory, we can generally obtain it from a supplier within one business day.

We purchase pharmaceuticals either directly from manufacturers or through authorized wholesalers. Health Services uses one wholesaler more than others in the industry, but holds contracts with other wholesalers if needs for an alternate source arise. Generic pharmaceuticals are generally purchased directly from manufacturers.

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Industry Developments

See the “Industry Developments” section of the MD&A in this Form 10-K for discussion of key industry developments impacting this segment.

Intellectual Property Rights

Our Company’s Health Services-related trademark and service marks include, but are not limited to, the following: EXPRESS SCRIPTS®, MEDCO®, ACCREDO®, CURASCRIPTSD®, EVICORE HEALTHCARE®, FREEDOM FERTILITY PHARMACY®, RATIONALMED®, SCREENRX®, EXPRESSALLIANCE®, THERAPEUTIC RESOURCE CENTER®, ADVANCED OPIOID MANAGEMENT®, SAFEGUARDRX®, CARDIOVASCULAR CARE VALUE^SM, HEPATITIS CURE VALUE^SM, MARKET EVENTS PROTECTION^SM, ONCOLOGY CARE VALUE^SM, DIABETES CARE VALUE^SM, INFLAMMATORY CONDITIONS CARE VALUE^SM, INFLATION PROTECTION^SM, PULMONARY CARE VALUE^SM, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS CARE VALUE^SM, HEALTH CONNECT 360^SM, EMBARC BENEFIT PROTECTION^SM, EXPRESS SCRIPTS PATIENT ASSURANCE^SM and INSIDE RX®. We, or our affiliated companies, own trademark registrations for these and other company marks. Other names and marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.

We also hold a portfolio of patents and pending patent applications. We are not substantially dependent on any single patent or group of related patents.

INTEGRATED MEDICAL

Integrated Medical consists of a Commercial operating segment that includes our employer-sponsored medical coverage and a Government operating segment that includes Medicare offerings for seniors and individual insurance offerings both on and off the public health insurance exchanges. In 2019, Integrated Medical reported adjusted revenues of $36.5 billion and pre-tax adjusted income from operations of $3.8 billion.

We differentiate ourselves by providing innovative, personalized, and affordable health care benefit solutions based on the unique needs of the individuals and clients we serve. We increase value through our integrated approach and use of technology and data analytics to enhance patient engagement and health care outcomes, underscoring our strategic focus on delivering an industry-leading customer experience. We continue to strengthen our collaborative relationships with providers as we accelerate our transition to a value-based reimbursement system.

We offer a mix of core health insurance products and services to employers, other groups and individuals along with specialty products and services designed to improve the quality of care, lower cost and help customers achieve better health outcomes. Many of these products are available on a standalone basis, but we believe they create additional value when integrated with a Cigna-administered health plan. Our products are available through several distribution channels including brokers, direct sales and public and private exchanges. Our three funding solutions (i.e., insured – experience-rated (“ER”), insured – guaranteed cost (“GC”), and administrative services only (“ASO”) arrangements) enable us to customize the amount of risk taken by, and lower costs for, our customers and clients.

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The following chart depicts a high-level summary of our principal products and services in this segment, with definitions on subsequent pages.

(1)AZ, CO, FL, IL, MO, NC, TN, TX, VA

(2)AL, AZ, AR, DE, FL, GA, IL, KS, MD, MS, MO, NC, PA, SC, TN, TX

(3)All states except MA and NY

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Principal Products & Services

Commercial Medical

Managed Care Plans are offered through our insurance companies, HMOs and TPA companies. HMO, LocalPlus®, Network Open Access and Open Access Plus plans use meaningful cost-sharing incentives to encourage the use of “in-network” versus “out-of-network” health care providers. The national provider network for Managed Care Plans is somewhat smaller than the national network used with the PPO plan product line.

PPO Plans feature a network with broader provider access than the Managed Care Plans.

Consumer-Driven Products are typically paired with a high-deductible medical plan and offer customers a tax-advantaged way to pay for eligible health care expenses. These products, consisting of health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts and flexible spending accounts, encourage customers to play an active role in managing their health and health care costs.

Government Medical

Individual and Family Plans feature an insurance policy coupled with a network of health care providers in a geographic area who have been selected with cost and quality in mind.

Medicare Advantage Plans allow Medicare-eligible beneficiaries to receive health care benefits, including prescription drugs, through a managed care health plan such as our coordinated care plans. Our Medicare Advantage Plans are primarily HMO plans marketed to individuals. A significant portion of our Medicare Advantage customers receive medical care from our value-based models that focus on developing highly engaged physician networks, aligning payment incentives to improved health outcomes and using timely and transparent data sharing.

Medicare Stand-Alone Prescription Drug Products provide a number of prescription drug plan options, as well as service and information support, to Medicare and Medicaid eligible customers. Our stand-alone plans offer the savings of Medicare combined with the flexibility to provide enhanced benefits and a drug list tailored to an individual’s specific needs. Eligible beneficiaries benefit from broad network access and value-added services intended to promote wellness and affordability for our eligible beneficiaries.

Medicare Supplement Plans provide Medicare-eligible beneficiaries with federally standardized Medigap-style plans. Beneficiaries may select among the various plans with specific plan options to meet their unique needs and may visit, without the need for a referral, any health care provider or facility that accepts Medicare throughout the United States.

Specialty Products and Services

Stop-Loss insurance coverage is offered to self-insured clients whose group health plans are administered by Cigna. Stop-loss insurance provides reimbursement for claims in excess of a predetermined amount for individuals, the entire group, or both.

Cost-Containment Programs are designed to contain the cost of covered health care services and supplies. These programs reduce out-of-network utilization and costs, protect customers from balance billing and educate customers regarding the availability of lower cost in-network services. In addition, under these programs we negotiate discounts with out-of-network providers, review provider bills and recover overpayments. We charge fees for providing or arranging for these services. These programs may be administered by third-party vendors that have contracted with Cigna.

Consumer Health Engagement services are offered to customers covered under plans administered by Cigna or by third-party administrators. These services consist of an array of health management, disease management and wellness services. Our Medical Management programs include case, specialty and utilization management and a Health Information line. Our Health Advocacy program services include early intervention in the treatment of chronic conditions and an array of health and wellness coaching. Additionally, we administer incentives programs designed to encourage customers to engage in health improvement activities.

Pharmacy Management services and benefits can be combined with our medical offerings. The comprehensive suite of pharmacy management services available to clients and customers includes benefits management, specialty pharmacy services, clinical solutions, home delivery and certain health management services.

Behavioral Health services consist of behavioral health care case management, employee assistance programs (“EAP”) and work/life programs. We focus on integrating our programs and services with medical, pharmacy and disability programs to facilitate customized, holistic care.

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Dental solutions include dental health maintenance organization plans, dental preferred provider organization plans, exclusive dental provider organization plans, traditional dental indemnity plans and a dental discount program. Employers and other groups can purchase our products on either an insured or self-insured basis as standalone products or in conjunction with medical products. Additionally, individual customers can purchase insured dental preferred provider organization plans as standalone products or in conjunction with individual medical policies.

Funding Solutions

ASO. Plan sponsors (i.e., employers, unions and other groups) self-fund all claims, but may purchase stop-loss insurance to limit exposure. We collect fees from plan sponsors for providing access to our participating provider network and for other services and programs including: claims administration; behavioral health services; disease management; utilization management; cost containment; dental and pharmacy benefit management. Approximately 85% of our commercial medical customers are in ASO arrangements.

Experience-rated Insurance. Premium rates are established at the beginning of a policy period and are typically based on prior claim experience of the policyholder. When claims and expenses are less than the premium charged (an “experience surplus” or “margin”), the policyholder may be credited for a portion of this experience surplus or margin. If claims and expenses exceed the premium charged (an “experience deficit”), we bear these costs. In certain cases, experience deficits incurred while the policy is in effect are accumulated and may be recovered through future policy year experience surpluses or margins. Approximately 6% of commercial medical customers are in experience-rated arrangements.

Guaranteed Cost Insurance. Premium rates are established at the beginning of a policy period and, depending on group size, may be based in whole or in part on prior experience of the policyholder or on a pool of similar policyholders. We generally cannot subsequently adjust premiums to reflect actual claim experience until the next annual renewal. The policyholder does not participate, or share in, actual claim experience. We keep any experience surplus or margin if costs are less than the premium charged (subject to minimum medical loss ratio rebate requirements discussed below) and bear the risk for actual costs in excess of the premium charged. Approximately 9% of commercial medical customers are in guaranteed cost arrangements.

In most states, individual and group insurance premium rates must be approved by the applicable state regulatory agency (typically department of insurance) and state or federal laws may restrict or limit the use of rating methods. Premium rates for groups and individuals are subject to state review to determine whether they are adequate, not excessive and not unfairly discriminatory. In addition, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) subjects individual and small group policy rate increases above an identified threshold to review by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and requires payment of premium refunds on individual and group medical insurance products if minimum medical loss ratio (“MLR”) requirements are not met. The MLR represents the percentage of premiums used to pay medical claims and expenses for activities that improve the quality of care. In our individual business, premiums may also be adjusted as a result of the government risk adjustment program that accounts for the relative health status of our customers. See the “Business - Regulation” section of this Form 10-K for additional information about commercial MLR requirements and risk mitigation programs of the ACA.

Market Segments

Commercial comprises employers from the following market segments:

oNational. Multistate employers with 5,000 or more U.S.-based, full-time employees. We offer primarily ASO funding solutions in this market segment.

oMiddle Market. Employers generally with 500 to 4,999 U.S.-based, full-time employees. This segment also includes single-site employers with more than 5,000 employees and Taft-Hartley plans and other groups. We offer ASO, experience-rated and guaranteed cost insured funding solutions in this market segment.

oSelect. Employers generally with 51-499 eligible employees. We usually offer ASO with stop-loss insurance coverage and guaranteed cost insured funding solutions in this market segment.

oSmall Group Employers generally with 2-50 eligible employees. Pending regulatory approvals, we expect to launch a small group offering in select markets in 2020 with a strategic partner.

Individual. Consistent with the regulations for Individual ACA compliant plans, we offer only guaranteed cost plans in this market segment.

Government includes individuals who are Medicare-eligible beneficiaries, as well as employer group sponsored pre- and post-65 retirees. We also have dual-eligible customers who receive both Medicare and Medicaid benefits. We receive revenue from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) based on customer demographic data and health risk factors. In 2019, revenues from CMS were significant to the segment.

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Primary Distribution Channels

Brokers. Sales representatives distribute our products and services to a broad group of insurance brokers and consultants across the United States.

Direct. Cigna sales representatives distribute our products and services directly to employers, unions and other groups or individuals across the United States. Various products may also be sold directly to insurance companies, HMOs and third-party administrators. This may take the form of in-person contact, telephone or group selling venues.

Private Exchanges. We partner with select companies that have created private exchanges where individuals and organizations can acquire health insurance. We actively evaluate private exchange participation opportunities as they emerge in the market and target our participation to those models that best align with our mission and value proposition.

Public Exchanges. Public health insurance exchanges for ACA compliant plans on which Cigna may offer individual policies.

Competition

The primary competitive factors affecting our business are quality and cost effectiveness of service and provider networks; effectiveness of medical care management; products that meet the needs of employers and their employees; total cost management; technology; and effectiveness of marketing and sales. Financial strength, as indicated by ratings issued by nationally recognized rating agencies, is also a competitive factor. Our health advocacy capabilities, holistic approach to consumer engagement, breadth of product offerings, clinical care and health management capabilities and array of product funding options are competitive advantages. We believe our focus on improving the health, well-being and peace of mind of those we serve, and how we deliver better affordability, predictability and simplicity in health care will allow us to further differentiate ourselves.

National Insurers. United HealthGroup Inc., Aetna Inc. (owned by CVS Health Corporation), Anthem, Humana and Blue Cross Blue Shield plans compete with us in a variety of products and regions throughout the United States.

Local Healthplans. Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, local affiliates of major insurance companies and hospitals and regional stand-alone managed care and specialty companies compete with us in the states in which we offer managed care products. Additionally, plan sponsors may contract directly with providers.

TPAs. Third-party administrators compete with us for ASO business.

Start-ups. Emerging participants including alternative health service models, consortiums and other health plans seeking to disrupt, often through competitive technology.

Dental Insurers. Various companies offering primarily dental insurance compete with us on these products.

Specialty Companies. Specialty insurance or service companies that offer niche products and services compete with us.

Partnering to Deliver on the Promise of More Affordable, Predictable, Simple Health Care

Cigna’s Connected Care strategy engages customers in their health, collaborates with providers to help them improve their performance, and connects customers and providers through aligned health goals, incentives and actionable information to enable better decisions and outcomes. Our delivery strategy is designed to ensure our customers have access to the right care and in the preferred and appropriate setting at the right time. Fueled by advanced insights and predictive analytics, Cigna is committed to developing innovative solutions that span the health care delivery system and can be applied to different types of providers. Currently we have numerous collaborative arrangements with our participating health care providers that reach 3.9 million customers and are actively developing new arrangements to support our Connected Care strategy.

Accountable Care Program. We have 257 collaborative care arrangements with primary care groups built on the patient-centered medical home and accountable care organization (“ACO”) models. Our arrangements span more than 34 states and reach over 3 million customers. We are committed to increasing the number of groups over the next several years, as well as deepening existing relationships, with a goal of reaching over 270 programs by the end of 2020.

Hospital Quality Program. We have contracts with over 500 hospitals with reimbursements tied to quality metrics. We expect to grow this number to over 600 hospitals by the end of 2020.

Specialist Programs. We have 290 arrangements with specialist groups in value-based reimbursement arrangements. Our goal is to reach approximately 380 arrangements by the end of 2020. Programs include nationwide arrangements with several types of specialist groups including orthopedics, obstetrics and gynecology, cardiology, gastroenterology, oncology, nephrology and neurology. Arrangements include care coordination and episodes of care reimbursements for meeting cost and quality goals.

Independent Practice Associations. We have value-based physician engagement models in our Medicare Advantage business that allow physician groups to share financial outcomes with us. This clinical model also includes outreach to new and at-risk patients to ensure they are accessing their primary care physician.

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Participating Provider Network. We provide our customers with an extensive network of participating health care providers, hospitals and other facilities, pharmacies and providers of health care services and supplies. In most instances, we contract with them directly; however, in some instances, we contract with third parties for access to their provider networks and care management services. In addition, we have entered into strategic alliances with several regional managed care organizations (e.g., Tufts Health Plan, HealthPartners, Inc., Health Alliance Plan and MVP Health Plan) to gain access to their provider networks and discounts.

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

Cigna’s International Markets segment has operations in over 30 countries or jurisdictions providing a full range of comprehensive medical and supplemental health, life, and accident benefits to individuals and employers. Products and services include comprehensive health coverage, hospitalization, dental, critical illness, personal accident, term life, and variable universal life. In 2019, International Markets reported adjusted revenues of $5.6 billion and pre-tax adjusted income from operations of $762 million.

Demand for our products and services is driven by the growing global middle class, aging populations, increasing prevalence of chronic conditions and rising global health care costs. Our focus on product and service innovation means we continue to deliver solutions that meet the evolving needs of individual and group customers. Our products, distribution channels and funding sources range by customer and geography.

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International Markets is well positioned to address the growing demand for access to quality, affordable care and supplemental health and life protection that fill gaps in public and private care. We distinguish ourselves through differentiated direct-to-consumer distribution, customer insights, product innovation, a leading provider network and compliant solutions. We identify and pursue attractive market opportunities to bring health and protection solutions and tailor those solutions to the market and customer needs. Over the past several years, we have extended our product offerings and geographic reach. The chart below provides a high-level summary of our principal products and services in this segment with definitions on subsequent pages.

Principal Products & Services

Global Health Care products and services include insurance and administrative services for medical, dental, pharmacy, vision and life, accidental death and dismemberment and disability risks. We are leading providers of products and services that meet the needs of multinational employers, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations and globally mobile individuals with a focus on keeping employees healthy and productive. The employer benefits products and services are offered through guaranteed cost, experience-rated and administrative services only funding solutions, while individuals purchase guaranteed cost coverage. For definitions of funding solutions, see “Funding Solutions” in the “Integrated Medical” description of business section of this Form 10-K.

Local Health Care products and services include medical, dental, pharmacy and vision as well as life coverage. The customers of local health care businesses are employers and individuals located in specific countries where the products and services are purchased. These employer services can similarly be funded through a range of options; individuals purchase on a guaranteed cost basis.

Supplemental Health, Life and Accident Insurance products and services generally provide simple, affordable coverage of risks for the health and financial security of individuals. Supplemental health products provide stated benefit payments for certain specified health risks and include personal accident, accidental death, critical illness, hospitalization, travel, dental, dementia, cancer and other dread disease coverages. We also offer customers term and variable universal life insurance and certain savings products in select markets.

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Competition

We anticipate that the competitive environment will intensify as insurance and financial services providers more aggressively pursue expansion opportunities across geographies, particularly Asia. We believe competitive factors will include speed-to-market, customer insights, branding, product, distribution and service innovation, underwriting and pricing, efficient management of marketing and operating processes, commission levels paid to distribution partners, the quality of compliance functions, claims, network coverage and medical cost management, and talent acquisition and retention. Additionally, in most overseas markets, perception of commitment to the market and financial strength will likely be an important competitive factor.

Pricing and Reinsurance

Premium rates and fees for our global and local health care products reflect assumptions about future claims, expenses, customer demographics, investment returns and profit margins. For products using networks of contracted health care providers and facilities, premiums reflect assumptions about the impact of these contracts and utilization management on future claims. Most contracts permit rate changes at least annually.

The profitability of health care products is dependent upon the accuracy of projections for health care inflation (unit cost, location of delivery of care, currency of incurral and utilization), customer demographics, the adequacy of fees charged for administration and effective medical cost management.

Premium rates for our supplemental benefits products are based on assumptions about mortality, morbidity, customer acquisition and retention, customer demographics, expenses and capital requirements, as well as interest rates. Variable universal life insurance products fees consist of mortality, administrative, asset management and surrender charges assessed against the contractholder’s fund balance. Mortality charges on variable universal life may be adjusted prospectively to reflect expected mortality experience. Most contracts permit premium rate changes at least annually.

A global approach to underwriting risk management allows each local business to underwrite and accept risk within specified limits. Retentions are centrally managed through cost-effective use of external reinsurance to limit our liability on per life, per risk and per event (catastrophe) bases.

Industry Developments and Other Items Affecting International Markets

South Korea represents our single largest geographic market for International Markets. For information on this concentration of risk for the International Markets segment's business in South Korea, see "Other Items Affecting Results of International Markets" in the International Markets section of the MD&A of this Form 10-K.

Pressure on social health care systems, a rapidly aging population and increased wealth and education in developing insurance markets are leading to higher demand for health insurance and financial security products. In the supplemental health, life and accident business, direct marketing channels continue to grow and attract new competitors with industry consolidation among financial institutions and other affinity partners.

Data privacy regulation has tightened in all markets in the wake of high-profile data privacy incidents, impacting affinity partner and customer attitudes toward direct marketing of insurance and other financial services. It has also placed an added emphasis on the importance of operational compliance.

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GROUP DISABILITY AND OTHER

As explained further in the introduction to this Form 10-K, Group Disability and Other consists of our Group Disability and Life operating segment, along with COLI and certain run-off businesses reported together in Other Operations. In 2019, Group Disability and Other reported adjusted revenues of $5.2 billion and pre-tax adjusted income from operations of $501 million.

In December 2019, Cigna entered into a definitive agreement to sell the Group Disability and Life business to New York Life Insurance Company for $6.3 billion. The sale is expected to close in the third quarter of 2020 subject to applicable regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Until the transaction is finalized, we continue to operate our business as usual and serve our customers.

Group Disability and Life

Our Group Disability and Life operating segment includes our commercial long- and short-term disability products and our term life group insurance products. We also offer personal accident insurance and voluntary products and services. These products and services are distributed through brokers and direct sales and are available in guaranteed cost, experience-rated and ASO arrangements. The following chart depicts a high-level summary of our Principal Products and Services in this segment with definitions on subsequent pages.

Principal Products & Services

Group Disability

Group Long-term and Short-term Disability insurance products generally provide a fixed level of income to replace a portion of wages lost due to disability. As part of our group disability insurance products, we also assist employees in returning to work and employers with resources to manage the cost of employee disability

Leave Administration solutions help customers effectively manage workforce absence and provide coverage for paid leave.

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Group Life Insurance

Group Term Life insurance may be employer-paid basic life insurance, employee-paid supplemental life insurance or a combination thereof.

Group Accident and Voluntary

Personal Accident Insurance coverage consists primarily of accidental death and dismemberment and travel accident insurance to employers.

Voluntary Products and Services include plans that provide employers with administrative solutions designed to provide a complete and simple way to manage their benefits program. These voluntary offerings include accidental injury insurance, critical illness coverage and hospital care coverage, and provide additional dollar payouts to employees for unexpected accidents, hospitalization or more serious illnesses.

Pricing

Premiums charged for disability and term life insurance products are usually established in advance of the policy period and are generally guaranteed for one to three years, but selectively guaranteed for up to five years. Policies are generally subject to termination by the policyholder or by the insurance company annually. Premium rates reflect assumptions about future claims, expenses, credit risk, investment returns and profit margins. These assumptions may be based in whole or in part on prior experience of the account or on a pool of accounts, depending on the group size and the statistical credibility of the experience that varies by product.

Market Segments

Commercial. Commercial market segments are as follows:

oNational. Multistate employers with 5,000 or more U.S.-based, full-time employees.

oMiddle Market. Employers generally with 250 to 4,999 U.S.-based, full-time employees.

oSelect. Employers generally with up to 249 eligible employees.

Primary Distribution Channels

Insurance Broker and Consultants. Sales representatives distribute our products and services to a broad group of insurance brokers and consultants across the United States.

Direct. Sales representatives distribute our products and services directly to employers, unions and other groups or individuals across the United States. This may take the form of in-person contact, telephone or group selling venues.

Competition

The principal competitive factors that affect the Group Disability and Life segment are underwriting and pricing, the quality and effectiveness of claims management, relative operating efficiency, investment and risk management, distribution methodologies and producer relations, the breadth and variety of products and services offered, the quality of customer service and, more importantly, the state of the tools and technology available for customers, clients, consultants and producers. For certain products with longer-term liabilities, such as group long-term disability insurance, the financial strength of the insurer, as indicated by ratings issued by nationally recognized rating agencies, is also a competitive factor.

National Insurers. Unum, The Hartford, Prudential Financial, Lincoln Financial Group and MetLife compete with us on a variety of products and regions throughout the United States.

Industry Developments

Employers have expressed a growing interest in employee wellness, absence management and productivity and recognize a strong link between employee health productivity and profitability.

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The group insurance market remains highly competitive as the rising cost of medical coverage has forced companies to re-evaluate their overall employee benefit spending, resulting in lower volumes of group disability and life insurance business and more competitive pricing.

Over the past few years, there has been heightened review by state regulators of the claims handling practices within the disability and life insurance industry. This has resulted in an increase in coordinated, multistate examinations that target specific market practices in addition to regularly recurring examinations of an insurer’s overall operations conducted by an individual state’s regulators. We have been subject to such an examination over the past several years.

The lower level of interest rates in the United States over the last several years has constrained earnings growth in this segment due to lower yields on our fixed-income investments and higher benefit expenses resulting from the discounting of future claim payments at lower interest rates.

Other Operations

Other Operations includes the following:

Corporate-owned Life Insurance

The principal products of the COLI business are permanent insurance contracts sold to corporations to provide coverage on the lives of certain employees for financing employer-paid future benefit obligations. Permanent life insurance provides coverage that, when adequately funded, does not expire after a term of years. The contracts are primarily non-participating universal life policies. Fees for universal life insurance products consist primarily of mortality and administrative charges assessed against the policyholder’s fund balance. Interest credited and mortality charges for universal life and mortality charges on variable universal life may be adjusted prospectively to reflect expected interest and mortality experience. To reduce our exposure to large individual and catastrophe losses, we purchase reinsurance from unaffiliated reinsurers.

Run-off Settlement Annuity Business

Our settlement annuity business is a closed, run-off block of single premium annuity contracts. These contracts are primarily liability settlements with approximately 20% of the liabilities associated with guaranteed payments not contingent on survivorship. Non-guaranteed payments are contingent on the survival of one or more parties involved in the settlement.

Run-off Reinsurance

Our reinsurance operations are an inactive business in run-off.

In February 2013, we effectively exited the guaranteed minimum death benefit (“GMDB”) and guaranteed minimum income benefit (“GMIB”) business by reinsuring 100% of our future exposures, net of retrocessional arrangements in place at that time, up to a specified limit. For additional information regarding this reinsurance transaction and the arrangements that secure our reinsurance recoverables, see Note 10 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Individual Life Insurance and Annuity and Retirement Benefits Businesses

This business includes deferred gains recognized from the 1998 sale of the individual life insurance and annuity business and the 2004 sale of the retirement benefits business. For more information regarding the arrangements that secure our reinsurance recoverables for the retirement benefits business, see Note 10 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

TECHNOLOGY

Cigna Technology Services supports our business strategy by focusing first and foremost on strong foundational technology services, delivery of a business-aligned technology project portfolio and focused strategic innovation that creates technology solutions to differentiate us in the market. Our innovation continues to focus on three strategic areas: insights and analytics; digital health and care delivery and management. Our technology strategy drives improved customer experience, increases engagement and advances population health with data driven insights and using advanced analytics and predictive intelligence to provide key areas of competitive advantage. Innovation is core to the way we do business and will be a critical factor to our success in the highly dynamic health care industry. Our business strategy is based upon providing customers with differentiated, easy-to-use, seamless and secure products and solutions that use insights from advanced analytics to exceed their expectations.

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Our technology team, powered by approximately 7,000 employees and several thousand external resources contracted with our partners, supports the various information systems essential to our operations including the health benefit claims processing systems and specialty and home delivery pharmacy systems. Uninterrupted point-of-sale electronic retail pharmacy claims processing is a significant operational requirement for our business. We believe we have substantial capacity for growth in our United States claims processing facilities. Our pharmacy technology platform allows us to safely, rapidly and accurately adjudicate over one billion adjusted prescriptions annually. Our technology helps retail pharmacies focus on patient care and our real-time safety checks help avoid hundreds of thousands of medication errors annually.

We anticipate needs and meet customers where they are, from predicting and preventing chronic diseases, to using data to reduce payment and claims fraud, optimizing whole person health and leveraging the data from wearable devices and the Internet of Things to optimize population health status. Innovation is at the center of what differentiates Cigna. Cigna innovations improve patient outcomes while eliminating waste in the health care system. The Cigna companies hold more than 190 United States patents. We use these patents to protect our proprietary technological advances and to differentiate ourselves in the market.

We continue to bring new technology-enabled products and services to the market, including biometric stress prediction and focused insights in spaces such as women’s health and opioid addiction. Our digital health focus has shown value across the enterprise by creating engaging experiences that give customers the right information at the right time. This includes an enhanced MyCigna.com experience with new features, including refill and payment options, without leaving the mobile application. Cybersecurity protections, such as multi-factor authentication, have been launched across Cigna’s digital offerings providing better peace of mind and a stronger sense of security.

During 2019, significant technology integration, including with the acquired Express Scripts platform, delivered cost synergies, drove differentiated innovation and facilitated the transition to Express Scripts capabilities in areas such as supply chain, specialty pharmacy and retail networks. In the future, we expect continued integration and value realization with focus on customer-facing system integration and opportunities for enhanced value in specialty, claims and retail. With the combined strengths and capabilities of Cigna and Express Scripts, we see greater opportunities to create novel, highly-tailored customer insights as we mine data and use sophisticated advanced analytics and predictive intelligence to build better models that help us find solutions to complex questions and improve health care outcomes.

ANALYTICS

Cigna’s investments in data and analytics enable affordability, simplicity, predictability and growth across all of our business platforms. We create value for our customers and stakeholders by enabling better insights and actionable intelligence, developing new solutions and digitally-enabled value propositions and creating innovative data and analytics driven services. We leverage advanced analytics and predictive intelligence to design more affordable benefit plans and services, serve our customers and clients, and improve care costs and health outcomes.

Our teams conduct timely, rigorous and objective research and analysis that informs evidence-based medical and pharmacy benefit management and evaluates the clinical, economic and individual impact of enhanced benefit designs and programs.

Our commitment to innovation generates new and more effective ways to close care gaps, optimize treatment and improve outcomes.

Our data and analytics talent empowers these capabilities through deep expertise in data management, business analysis, intelligence and data science, with ongoing investments in talent development, analytic and big data technologies, as well as innovative third party partnerships while ensuring controls are in place to protect sensitive client and customer information.

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INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

Our investment operations provide investment management and related services for our various businesses, including the insurance-related invested assets in our General Account (“General Account Invested Assets”). We acquire or originate, directly or through intermediaries, a broad range of investments including private placement and public securities, commercial mortgage loans, real estate, mezzanine, private equity partnerships and short-term investments. Invested assets also include policy loans that are fully collateralized by insurance policy cash values. We also enter into derivative financial instruments, primarily to minimize the risk of changes in foreign currency exchange rates on our investments. Invested assets are managed primarily by our subsidiaries and, to a lesser extent, external managers with whom our subsidiaries contract. Net investment income is included as a component of adjusted income from operations for each of our segments and Corporate. Realized investment gains (losses) are reported by segment but excluded from adjusted income from operations. For additional information about invested assets, see the “Investment Assets” section of the MD&A and Notes 11 and 12 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

We manage our investment portfolios to reflect the underlying characteristics of related insurance and contractholder liabilities and capital requirements, as well as regulatory and tax considerations pertaining to those liabilities and state investment laws. Insurance and contractholder liabilities range from short duration health care products to longer-term obligations associated with disability and life insurance products and the run-off settlement annuity business. Assets supporting these liabilities are managed in segregated investment portfolios to facilitate matching of asset durations and cash flows to those of corresponding liabilities. Investment results are affected by the amount and timing of cash available for investment, economic and market conditions and asset allocation decisions. We routinely monitor and evaluate the status of our investments, obtaining and analyzing relevant investment-specific information and assessing current economic conditions, trends in capital markets and other factors such as industry sector, geographic and property-specific information.

Separate Accounts

Our subsidiaries or external advisors manage invested assets of Separate Accounts on behalf of contractholders, including the Cigna Pension Plan, variable universal life products sold through our corporate-owned life insurance business and other life insurance products. These assets are legally segregated from our other businesses and are not included in General Account Invested Assets. Income, gains and losses generally accrue directly to the contractholders.

Investing in Innovation

In addition to the portfolio investments in our general and separate accounts discussed above that support our insurance operations, we do targeted investing within the health care industry specifically. Our Cigna Ventures unit has been allotted $250 million to invest in promising startups and growth-stage companies that create new growth possibilities in health care. These targeted investments bring improved care quality, affordability, choice and greater simplicity to customers, patients and clients by harnessing transformative ideas in: 1) insights and analytics; 2) digital health and retail and 3) care delivery and management.

MISCELLANEOUS

We are not dependent on business from one or a few clients. No one client accounted for 10% or more of our consolidated revenues in 2019. We are not dependent on business from one or a few brokers or agents. In addition, our insurance businesses are generally not committed to accept a fixed portion of the business submitted by independent brokers and agents and generally all such business is subject to approval and acceptance.

We had approximately 73,700 employees as of December 31, 2019.

REGULATION

The laws and regulations governing our business continue to increase each year and are subject to frequent change. We are regulated by federal, state and international legislative bodies and agencies, which generally have discretion to issue regulations and interpret and enforce laws and rules. These regulations can vary significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and the interpretation of existing laws and rules also may change periodically. Domestic and international governments continue to enact and consider various legislative and regulatory proposals, which could materially impact the health care system. The U.S. 2020 presidential and state elections likely will fuel continued legislative and regulatory debate of issues related to our businesses.

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Many aspects of our business are directly regulated by federal and state laws and administrative agencies, such as the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”), the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), the U.S. Departments of Labor (“DOL”), the Office of Personnel Management (“OPM”) Treasury and Justice (“DOJ”), the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, state departments of insurance and state boards of pharmacy. Our business practices may also be shaped by judicial decisions.

In addition, aspects of our business are subject to indirect regulation. The self-funded benefit plans sponsored by our U.S. employer clients are regulated under federal law. These self-funded clients expect us to assure that our administration of their plans complies with the regulatory requirements applicable to them.

Our business operations and the books and records of our regulated businesses are routinely subject to examination and audit at regular intervals by state insurance and HMO regulatory agencies, state boards of pharmacy, CMS, DOL, IRS, OPM and comparable international regulators to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Our operations are also subject to nonroutine examinations, audits and investigations by various state and federal regulatory agencies, generally as the result of a complaint. In addition, we may be implicated in investigations of our clients whose group benefit plans we administer on their behalf. As a result, we routinely receive subpoenas and other demands or requests for information from various state insurance and HMO regulatory agencies, state attorneys general, the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”), the DOJ, the DOL and other state, federal and international authorities. We may also be called upon by members of the U.S. Congress to provide information, including testifying before congressional committees and subcommittees, regarding certain of our business practices. If Cigna is determined to have failed to comply with applicable laws or regulations, these examinations, investigations, reviews, subpoenas and demands may:

•result in fines, penalties, injunctions, consent orders or loss of licensure;

•suspend or exclude from participation in government programs or limit our ability to sell or market our products;

•require changes in business practices;

•damage relationships with the agencies that regulate us and affect our ability to secure regulatory approvals necessary for the operation of our business; or

•damage our brand and reputation.

Our international subsidiaries are subject to regulations in international jurisdictions, including in certain case many regulations similar to the federal and state regulations described below, which are complex and where foreign insurers may face more rigorous regulations than their domestic competitors and may also be affected by geopolitical developments or tensions.

The laws and regulations governing our business, as well as the related interpretations, are subject to frequent change and can be inconsistent or in conflict with each other. Changes in our business environment are likely to continue as elected and appointed officials at the national and state levels continue to propose and enact significant modifications to existing laws and regulations. Even where we believe that we are in compliance with the various laws and regulations, any enforcement actions by federal, state or international government officials alleging non-compliance with these rules and regulations could subject us to penalties or restructuring or reorganization of our business. For a discussion of the risks related to our compliance with these laws and regulations see the Risk Factors section located in Part 1, Item 1A of this Form 10-K. Management continues to be actively engaged with regulators and policymakers with respect to legislation and rulemaking. See the “Executive Overview – Health Care Industry Developments and Other Matters Affecting our Integrated Medical and Health Services Segments” section of our MD&A located in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K for a discussion of the anticipated impact of certain recent industry developments.

Patient Protection and the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”)

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) mandated broad changes to the U.S. health care system, including insured and self-insured health benefit plans and pharmacy benefit managers. Our business model is impacted by the ACA, including our relationships with current and future producers and health care providers, products, service providers and technologies. Key provisions of the ACA include the imposition of a non-tax deductible health insurance industry fee and other assessments on health insurers, and the creation of health insurance exchanges for individuals and small group employers to purchase insurance coverage. The ACA also implemented minimum medical loss ratios (“MLRs”) for our Medicare and commercial businesses. Certain states have adopted MLR requirements applicable to our commercial businesses that are more stringent than those established by the ACA. Other provisions of the ACA in effect include reduced Medicare Advantage premium rates, the requirement to cover preventive services with no enrollee cost-sharing, banning the use of lifetime and annual limits on the dollar amount of essential health benefits, increasing restrictions on rescinding coverage, extending coverage of dependents up to age 26, restrictions on differential pricing, enforcement mechanisms and rules related to health care fraud and abuse enforcement activities and certain pharmacy benefit transparency requirements. The employer mandate requires employers with 50 or more full-time employees to offer affordable health insurance that provides minimum value (each as defined under the ACA) to full-time employees and their dependents, including

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children up to age 26, or be subject to penalties based on employer size. The ACA also changed certain tax laws to effectively limit tax deductions for certain employee compensation paid by health insurers. In December 2019, the federal government repealed the non-deductible health insurance industry fee effective for 2021, as well as repealing the enacted but never implemented 40% excise tax on certain employer-sponsored coverage (known as the “Cadillac Tax”) and the medical device tax.

Since its adoption, there have been several attempts to repeal or limit the utility of the ACA. Certain insurers have sued the federal government for failure to pay cost-sharing subsidies under the ACA. The matter remains unresolved and we continue to monitor developments. In December 2017, U.S. tax reform legislation was signed into law that, among other things, reduced the “individual mandate” penalty for individuals without health insurance to zero dollars, effective January 1, 2019. As a result of this change, a federal district court has ruled that the “individual mandate” is unconstitutional. On appeal, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit agreed that the “individual mandate” is unconstitutional but ordered the district court to reexamine whether the other provisions of the ACA can remain in effect, thereby leaving in doubt whether the entire ACA is unconstitutional until there is a final judicial determination on appeal.

Additionally, in 2017, the current administration issued an executive order asking the DOL to revise the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) regulations to make it easier for employers, particularly small employers, to associate for the purpose of sponsoring large group health plans and thereby avoid the ACA’s small group market reform (e.g., community-rating and mandated coverage of essential health benefits) that impaired the affordability of providing health coverage to their employees. In the spring of 2018, the DOL issued final rules that revised the definition of “employer” in the ERISA rules to make it easier for employers, including self-employed individuals, to form bona fide employer groups, all of whose employees would be counted in determining whether they were small or large groups for purposes of the ACA. While the regulation of these groupings by state insurance departments is not affected by the DOL’s final association health plan rules, the final rules have resulted in an increase in interest among employers, associations, producers and benefit consultants in forming new groupings for purposes of offering insured or self-funded group health plans.

See also the “Executive Overview” section of our MD&A of this Form 10-K for more information. Additionally, see Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information regarding accounting policies around the risk mitigation programs under the ACA.

Medicare and Medicaid Regulations

Through our subsidiaries, we offer individual and group Medicare Advantage, Medicare Pharmacy (“Part D”) and Medicare Supplement products. We also provide Medicare Part D-related products and services to other Medicare Part D sponsors, Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plans and employers and clients offering Medicare Part D benefits to Medicare Part D eligible beneficiaries. As part of our Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D business, we contract with CMS to provide services to Medicare beneficiaries. As a result, our ability to obtain payment (and the determination of the amount of such payments), market to, enroll and retain customers and expand into new service areas is subject to compliance with CMS’ numerous and complex regulations and requirements that are frequently modified and subject to administrative discretion, review and enforcement. We offer Medicaid and dual-eligible products and participate in state Medicaid programs directly or indirectly through our clients who are Medicaid managed care contractors. We also perform certain Medicaid subrogation services and certain delegated services, including utilization management, for clients, which are regulated by federal and state laws. Our Medicaid and dual-eligible products are regulated by CMS and state Medicaid agencies audit our performance to determine compliance with contracts and regulations.

CMS evaluates Medicare Advantage plans and Part D plans under its “Star Rating” system. The Star Rating system considers various measures adopted by CMS, including, for example, quality of care, preventive services, chronic illness management, coverage determinations and appeals and customer satisfaction. A plan’s Star Rating affects its image in the market and plans that perform very well are able to offer enhanced benefits and market more effectively and for longer periods of time than other plans. Medicare Advantage plans’ quality-bonus payments are determined by the Star Rating, with plans receiving a rating of four or more stars eligible for such payments. The Star Rating system is subject to change annually by CMS, which may make it more difficult to achieve and maintain four stars or greater.

CMS uses a risk-adjustment model which adjusts premiums paid to Medicare Advantage plans according to customers’ health status. The risk-adjustment model generally pays more where a plan's membership has higher than expected costs. Under this model, rates paid to Medicare Advantage plans are based on actuarially determined bids, which include a process whereby our prospective payments are based on our estimated cost of providing standard Medicare-covered benefits to an enrollee with a “national average risk profile.” That baseline payment amount is adjusted to reflect the health status of our enrolled membership. Under the risk-adjustment methodology, Medicare Advantage plans must collect and submit the necessary diagnosis code information from hospital inpatient, hospital outpatient, and physician providers to CMS within prescribed deadlines. We generally rely on providers, including certain providers in our network who are employees, to code their claim submission with appropriate diagnoses which we send to CMS as the

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basis for our payments received under the actuarial risk-adjustment model. The CMS risk-adjustment model uses the diagnosis data to calculate the risk-adjusted premium payment to the plans, which CMS adjusts for coding pattern differences between the health plans and the government fee-for-service program. In 2012, CMS released a payment methodology that provided for sample audit error rates to be extrapolated to the entire Medicare Advantage contract after comparing audit results with a similar audit of Medicare Fee for Service (the “FFS Adjuster”) and applying an FFS Adjuster to establish actuarial equivalency in payment rates as required by the Medicare statute. However, a methodology to calculate the FFS Adjuster was not finalized and CMS has, to date, not completed any Risk Adjustment Data Validation (“RADV”) audits using extrapolation. See below under “Federal and State Oversight of Government-Sponsored Health Care Programs” for a discussion of RADV audits.

On November 1, 2018, CMS released a proposed rule titled “Proposed Rule on Changes to MA and Part D Programs for CY 2020 and 2021” that would revise its RADV methodology for RADV audits of contract year 2011 and all subsequent years by, among other things, extrapolating RADV results at the contract level without applying the FFS Adjuster. The Company, along with other Medicare Advantage organizations and additional interested parties, submitted comments to CMS on the proposed rule as part of the notice-and-comment rulemaking process. The comment period concluded on August 28, 2019. It is uncertain whether CMS will finalize the rule as proposed.

Coverage of prescription drugs under Medicare Part D is also regulated by CMS and our contracts with CMS contain provisions for risk sharing and certain payments for prescription drug costs for which we are not at risk. These provisions affect our ultimate payments from CMS. For example, premiums from CMS are subject to risk corridor payments which compare costs targeted in our annual bids with actual prescription costs, limited to actual costs that would have been incurred under the standard coverage as defined by CMS. Variances exceeding certain thresholds may result in CMS making additional payments to us or require us to refund to CMS a portion of the payments we received (known as a risk corridor).

In February 2019, CMS proposed rules to support the seamless and secure access, exchange and use of electronic health information. In the proposed rules, CMS proposes requirements that Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicare Advantage plans and qualified health plans in the federally-facilitated exchanges provide enrollees with immediate electronic access to medical claims and other health information electronically by 2020. This proposed rule is subject to revision through a comment process. The Company submitted comments to CMS on the proposed rule as part of the notice-and-comment rulemaking process and the comment period concluded on June 3, 2019.

On February 5, 2020, CMS released a proposed rule titled “Medicare and Medicaid Programs: Contract Year 2021 and 2022 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, Medicaid Program, Medicare Cost Plan Program, and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly” that proposes changes to special needs plans, flexibility in the use of specialty tiers in Medicare Part D, creation of a beneficiary real-time benefit tool, and modification of certain network adequacy rules. The proposed rule also includes several changes to the Stars Rating system, including creation of several new measures, retirement of one existing measure, changes to the relative measure weighting, and revision of the methodology for assigning individual measure ratings. The proposed rule is subject to revision through the comment process.

We expect CMS, OIG, DOJ and other federal agencies to continue to closely scrutinize each component of the Medicare Advantage program and modify the terms and requirements of the program. Noncompliance with these laws and regulations may result in significant consequences, including fines and penalties, enrollment sanctions, exclusion from the Medicare and Medicaid programs, limitations on expansion, and criminal penalties.

See also the “Executive Overview” section of our MD&A of this Form 10-K for more information.

False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Laws

Our products and services are also subject to the federal False Claims Act (the “False Claims Act”) and federal and state anti-kickback laws. Additionally, the federal government has made investigating and prosecuting health care fraud, waste and abuse a priority. Fraud, waste and abuse prohibitions encompass a wide range of activities, including kickbacks in return for customer referrals, billing for unnecessary medical services, upcoding and improper marketing. The regulations and contractual requirements in this area are complex, frequently modified, and subject to administrative discretion and judicial interpretation.

False Claims Act and Related Criminal Provisions. The False Claims Act imposes civil penalties on any person who makes or causes to be made claims or records or statements that he or she knows or should know are false with respect to governmental programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, to obtain reimbursement or for failure to return overpayments. Private individuals may bring qui tam or “whistleblower” suits against providers under the False Claims Act, which authorizes the payment of a portion of any recovery to the individual bringing suit. The ACA amended the federal anti-kickback laws to state any claim submitted to a federal or state health care program that violates the anti-kickback laws is also a false claim under the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act generally

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provides for the imposition of civil penalties and for treble damages, creating the possibility of substantial financial liabilities. Criminal statutes similar to the False Claims Act provide that if a corporation is convicted of presenting a claim or making a statement it knows to be false, fictitious or fraudulent to any federal agency, the corporation may be fined. Conviction under these statutes may also result in exclusion from participation in federal and state health care programs. Many states have also enacted laws similar to the False Claims Act, some of which may include criminal penalties, substantial fines and treble damages.

Anti-Kickback and Referral Laws. Subject to certain exceptions and “safe harbors,” the federal anti-kickback statute generally prohibits, among other things, knowingly and willfully paying, receiving or offering any payment or other remuneration to induce a person to purchase, lease, order or arrange for items (including prescription drugs) or services reimbursable in whole or in part under Medicare, Medicaid or another federal health care program. Many states have similar laws, some of which are not limited to items or services paid for with government funds. Sanctions for violating these federal and state anti-kickback laws may include criminal and civil fines and exclusion from participation in federal and state health care programs.

Anti-kickback laws have been cited as a partial basis, along with state consumer protection laws described below, for investigations and multistate settlements relating to financial incentives provided by drug manufacturers to pharmacies or payors in connection with “product conversion” or promotion programs. Other anti-kickback laws may be applicable to arrangements with pharmaceutical manufacturers, such as the Public Contracts Anti-Kickback Act, the ERISA Health Plan Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal “Stark Law” and various state anti-kickback restrictions.

Federal Civil Monetary Penalties Law. The federal civil monetary penalty statute provides for civil monetary penalties against any person who gives something of value to a Medicare or Medicaid program beneficiary that the person knows or should know is likely to influence the beneficiary’s selection of a particular provider for Medicare or Medicaid items or services. Under this law, our wholly-owned home delivery pharmacies, specialty pharmacies and home health providers are restricted from offering certain items of value to influence a Medicare or Medicaid patient’s use of services. The ACA also includes several civil monetary provisions, such as penalties for the failure to report and return a known overpayment and failure to grant timely access to the OIG under certain circumstances.

Federal and State Oversight of Government-Sponsored Health Care Programs

Participation in government-sponsored health care programs subjects us to a variety of federal and state laws and regulations and risks associated with audits conducted under these programs. These audits may occur years after the provision of services. Risks include potential fines and penalties, restrictions on our ability to participate or expand our presence in certain programs and restrictions on marketing our plans. For example, with respect to our Medicare Advantage business, CMS and the OIG perform audits to determine a health plan’s compliance with federal regulations and contractual obligations, including program audits and Risk Adjustment Data Validation Audits (or “RADV audits”), which focus on compliance with proper coding practices. Certain of our contracts are currently subject to RADV audits by CMS and the OIG. CMS has announced its intent to use third-party auditors to audit all Medicare Advantage contracts by either a comprehensive or a targeted RADV review for each contract year. The DOJ is also currently conducting an industry-wide investigation of the risk adjustment data submission practices and business processes, including review of medical charts, of Cigna and a number of other Medicare Advantage organizations under Medicare Parts C and D. See Note 22 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information.

For our Medicare Part D business, compliance with fraud and abuse enforcement practices is monitored through Recovery Audit Contractor audits in which third-party contractors conduct post-payment reviews on a contingency fee basis to detect and correct improper payments.

Government Procurement Regulations

We have a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense (“DoD”), which subjects us to applicable Federal Acquisition Regulations (“FAR”) and the DoD FAR Supplement, which govern federal government contracts. Further, there are other federal and state laws applicable to our DoD arrangement and our arrangements with other clients that may be subject to government procurement regulations. In addition, certain of our clients participate as contracting carriers in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program administered by the Office of Personnel Management, which includes various pharmacy benefit management standards.

Employee Retirement Income Security Act

Our domestic subsidiaries sell most of their products and services to sponsors of employee benefit plans that are governed by ERISA. ERISA is a complex set of federal laws and regulations enforced by the IRS and the DOL, as well as the courts. ERISA regulates certain aspects of the relationship between us, the employers that maintain employee welfare benefit plans subject to ERISA and participants in such plans. Certain of our domestic subsidiaries are also subject to requirements imposed by ERISA affecting claim

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payment and appeals procedures for individual health insurance and insured and self-insured group health plans and for the insured dental, disability, life and accident plans we administer. Certain of our domestic subsidiaries also may contractually agree to comply with these requirements on behalf of the self-insured dental, disability, life and accident plans they administer. We believe the conduct of our pharmacy benefit management business is not generally subject to the fiduciary obligations of ERISA. However, there can be no assurances that the DOL may not assert that pharmacy benefit managers are fiduciaries. From time to time, states have considered legislation to declare a pharmacy benefit manager or health benefit manager a fiduciary with respect to its clients.

Plans subject to ERISA can also be subject to state laws and the legal question of whether and to what extent ERISA preempts a state law will continue to be subject to court interpretation.

Privacy, Security and Data Standards Regulations

Many of our activities involve the receipt or use of confidential health and other personal information. In addition, we use aggregated and de-identified data for our own research and analysis purposes and, in some cases, provide access to such data to pharmaceutical manufacturers and third-party data aggregators. There are also industry standards for handling credit card data known as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, which are a set of requirements designed to help ensure that entities that process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. Certain states have incorporated these requirements into state laws or enacted other requirements for using and disclosing personal information.

The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and its implementing regulations (“HIPAA”) impose minimum standards on health insurers, pharmacy benefit managers, HMOs, health plans, health care providers and clearinghouses for the privacy and security of protected health information. HIPAA regulations may also hold us liable for violations by our business associates (e.g., entities that provide services to health plans and providers). HIPAA also established rules that standardize the format and content of certain electronic transactions, including, but not limited to, eligibility and claims.

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”) imposes additional contracting requirements for covered entities, the extension of privacy and security provisions to business associates, the requirement to provide notification to various parties in the event of a data breach of protected health information, and enhanced financial penalties for HIPAA violations, including potential criminal penalties for individuals. In the conduct of our business, depending on the circumstances, we may act as either a covered entity or a business associate.

The federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and its implementing regulations generally places restrictions on the disclosure of nonpublic information to nonaffiliated third parties, and requires financial institutions, including insurers, to provide customers with notice regarding how their nonpublic personal information is used, including an opportunity to “opt out” of certain disclosures. State departments of insurance and certain federal agencies adopted implementing regulations as required by federal law.

State and local authorities are increasingly focused on protecting individuals from identity theft and a number of states have adopted data security laws and regulations requiring certain minimum data security standards and security breach notifications that may apply to us in certain circumstances. Neither HIPAA nor the Gramm-Leach-Bliley privacy regulations preempt more stringent state laws and regulations. The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), which went into effect in January 2020, provides additional privacy rights for California residents although it generally does not apply to certain regulated data such as information covered by HIPAA.

The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (“CISA”) encourages organizations to share cyber threat indicators with the federal government and, among other things, directs HHS to develop a set of voluntary cybersecurity best practices for organizations in the health care industry. States have also begun to issue regulations specifically related to cybersecurity, which may differ or conflict from state to state. In October 2017, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”), an organization of state insurance regulators, adopted the Insurance Data Security Model Law that creates rules for insurers and other covered entities addressing data security, investigation and notification of breaches. This includes maintaining an information security program based on ongoing risk assessment, overseeing third-party service providers, investigating data breaches and notifying regulators of a cybersecurity event. As the model law is intended to serve as model legislation only, states will need to enact legislation for the model law to become mandatory and enforceable. We will continue to monitor states’ activity regarding cybersecurity regulation.

In addition, international laws, rules and regulations governing the use and disclosure of personal information can be more stringent than in the United States, and they vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which became effective May 2018, enhanced or created obligations regarding the handling of personal data relating to European residents, such as regarding notices, data protection impact assessments, and individual rights, and provides for greater penalties for noncompliance than the previous European Directive or laws. In addition, many countries outside of Europe where we

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conduct business have implemented or may implement data protection laws and regulations, some of which include requirements modeled after those in the GDPR.

See Part 1. Item 1A, “Risk Factors” for a discussion of the risks related to compliance with privacy and security regulations.

Consumer Protection Laws

We engage in direct-to-consumer activities and are increasingly offering mobile and web-based solutions to our customers. We are therefore subject to federal and state regulations applicable to electronic communications and other consumer protection laws and regulations, such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the CAN-SPAM Act. The FTC is also increasingly exercising its enforcement authority in the areas of consumer privacy and data security, with a focus on web-based, mobile data and “big data.” Federal consumer protection laws may also apply in some instances to privacy and security practices related to personally identifiable information.

Most states have consumer protection laws that have been the basis for investigations and multistate settlements relating to financial incentives provided by drug manufacturers to retail pharmacies in connection with product conversion programs. Such statutes have also been cited as the basis for claims or investigations by state attorneys general relative to privacy and data security.

Office of Foreign Assets Control Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering

We are also subject to regulation by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury that administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions against targeted foreign countries and regimes based on U.S. foreign policy and national security goals. Certain of our products are subject to the Department of the Treasury anti-money laundering regulations under the Bank Secrecy Act. In addition, we are subject to similar regulations in non-U.S. jurisdictions in which we operate.

Corporate Practice of Medicine and Other Laws

Many states in which our subsidiaries operate limit the practice of medicine to licensed individuals or professional organizations comprised of licensed individuals, and business corporations generally may not exercise control over the medical decisions of physicians. Statutes and regulations relating to the practice of medicine, fee-splitting between physicians and referral sources, and similar issues vary widely from state to state. Under management agreements between certain of our subsidiaries and physician-owned professional groups, these groups retain sole responsibility for all medical decisions, as well as for hiring and managing physicians and other licensed health care providers, developing operating policies and procedures, implementing professional standards and controls, and maintaining malpractice insurance. We believe that our health services operations comply with applicable state statutes regarding corporate practice of medicine, fee-splitting, and similar issues. However, any enforcement actions by governmental officials alleging noncompliance with these statutes could subject us to penalties or restructuring or reorganization of our business.

Laws and Legislation Affecting Plan Design and Pharmacy Network Access

Some states have enacted laws that prohibit managed care plan sponsors from implementing certain restrictive benefit plan design features, and many states have laws or have introduced legislation to regulate various aspects of managed care plans, including provisions relating to the pharmacy benefit. For example, some states, under so-called “freedom of choice” legislation, provide customers of the plan may not be required to use network providers, but must instead be provided with benefits even if they choose to use non-network providers. Some states have also enacted legislation that can negatively impact the use of cost-saving network configurations for plan sponsors. Other states have enacted legislation purporting to prohibit health plans from offering customers financial incentives for use of home delivery pharmacies. Medicare and some states have issued guidance and regulations that limit our ability to fill or refill prescriptions electronically submitted by a physician to our home delivery pharmacy without first obtaining consent from the patient. Such restrictions generate additional costs and limit our ability to maximize efficiencies, which could otherwise be gained through the electronic prescription and automatic refill processes. Legislation has been introduced in some states to prohibit or restrict therapeutic intervention, or to require coverage of all Food and Drug Administration approved drugs. Other states mandate coverage of certain benefits or conditions, and require health plan coverage of specific drugs if deemed medically necessary by the prescribing physician. States are also standardizing the process for, and restricting the use of, utilization management rules and shortening the time frames within which prescription drug prior authorization determinations must be made. Even where states do not regulate pharmacy benefit or utilization management companies directly, these laws will apply to many of our clients, including managed care organizations and health insurers.

Additionally, Medicare Part D and a majority of states now have laws, regulations or some form of legislation affecting our ability, or our clients’ ability, to limit access to a pharmacy provider network or remove a provider from a network. Such laws, regulations or

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legislation may require us or our clients to admit any retail pharmacy or provider willing to meet the plan’s terms and conditions for network participation (“any willing provider”) or may direct that a provider may not be removed from a network except in compliance with certain procedures (“due process”).

Certain states have laws prohibiting certain pharmacy benefit management clients from imposing additional co-payments, deductibles, limitations on benefits, or other conditions on covered individuals utilizing a retail pharmacy when the same conditions are not otherwise imposed on covered individuals utilizing home delivery pharmacies. However, the laws require the retail pharmacy to agree to the same reimbursement amounts and terms and conditions as are imposed on the home delivery pharmacies. An increase in the number of prescriptions filled at retail pharmacies may have a negative impact on the number of prescriptions filled through home delivery.

Pharmacy Benefit Management and Drug Pricing Regulation

Our pharmacy benefit management services are subject to numerous laws and regulations. These laws and regulations govern, and proposed legislation and regulations may govern, critical practices, including disclosure, receipt and retention of rebates and other payments received from pharmaceutical manufacturers; the receipt and retention of transmission fees from contracted pharmacies; use of, administration of, or changes to drug formularies, the use and disclosure of maximum allowable cost pricing, or clinical programs; “most favored nation” pricing, which provides that a pharmacy participating in a specific government program must give the program the best price the pharmacy makes available to any third-party plan; disclosure of data to third parties; drug utilization management practices; the level of duty a pharmacy benefit manager owes its clients or customers; configuration of pharmacy networks; the operations of our subsidiary pharmacies; disclosure of negotiated provider reimbursement rates; disclosure of negotiated drug rebates, calculation of customer cost-share for prescription drug claims; pricing that includes differential or spread (i.e., a difference between the drug price charged to the plan sponsor by a pharmacy benefit manager and the price paid by the manager to the dispensing provider); disclosure of fees associated with administrative service agreements and patient care programs that are attributable to customers’ drug utilization; and registration or licensing of pharmacy benefit managers.

The U.S. Congress, current administration, and states will continue to prioritize, means of addressing out-of-pocket costs for consumers, particularly related to prescription drug costs. Policy proposals vary broadly in their approaches to achieve that goal, and range from proposing the creation of an international pricing index to which U.S. drug pricing would be benchmarked; reforming the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory processes and patent laws in order to accelerate the arrival of generics, biosimilars and clinically equivalent competition to the market; enabling states to import lower priced prescription drugs into the United States; or expanding the role of the federal or state governments to negotiate pricing of prescription drugs directly with manufacturers. Additionally, proposals at the federal and state levels consider increased regulation of pharmacy benefit managers and health plans as a means to limit consumer out of pocket costs, including proposing to limit the use of various pharmacy benefit management tools; mandating the treatment of fees, discounts or financing mechanisms that otherwise are set in private contractual terms; increasing supply chain transparency; expanding regulatory requirements or definitions of fiduciaries; or mandating plan benefit designs that cap consumer out-of-pocket expense.

Prescription drug pricing and the role of pharmacy benefit managers have been a focus of the current administration. In May 2018, the current administration announced a blueprint, titled “American Patients First,” which outlines a variety of approaches that could be adopted to lower prescription drug costs in the United States. Proposed rules regarding revisions to the federal anti-kickback safe harbor were rescinded in July 2019. In October 2018, Congress enacted laws that prohibited pharmacy benefit managers and insurers from restricting pharmacies from providing drug pricing information to a plan enrollee when there is a difference between the cost of the drug under insurance and the cost of the drug when purchased without insurance. While the other issues raised in the blueprint continue to be the subject of legislative and regulatory discussion, formal policies and requirements have not been finalized in any form.

Some states have enacted statutes regulating the use of maximum allowable cost (“MAC”) pricing. These statutes, referred to as “MAC Transparency Laws,” generally require pharmacy benefit managers to disclose specific information related to MAC pricing to pharmacies and provide certain appeal rights for pharmacies. MAC Transparency Laws also restrict the application of MAC and may require operational changes to maintain compliance with the law. Some states have also enacted laws regulating pharmacy pricing and protecting the profitability of pharmacies for dispensing certain MAC-priced drugs. Some states have enacted laws requiring that the customer cost-share for a prescription drug claim not exceed certain price points, such as the pharmacy’s usual and customary charge or its contracted reimbursement for the drug.

In March 2018, the NAIC adopted changes to the Health Carrier Prescription Drug Benefit Management Model Act. The changes address issues relating to (i) transparency, accuracy and disclosure regarding prescription drug formularies and formulary changes during a policy year; (ii) accessibility of prescription drug benefits using a variety of pharmacy options; and (iii) tiered prescription drug formularies and discriminatory benefit design. While the actions of the NAIC do not have the force of law, they are used as a

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template to influence states to adopt laws based on the model legislation. We are expecting an enhanced NAIC model act on pharmacy benefit manager licensure and regulation to be adopted by the NAIC in late 2020.

The federal Medicaid Drug Rebate Program requires participating drug manufacturers to provide rebates on all drugs reimbursed through state Medicaid programs, including through Medicaid managed care organizations. Manufacturers of brand-name products must provide a rebate equivalent to the greater of (a) 23.1% of the average manufacturer price (“AMP”) paid by retail community pharmacies or by wholesalers for certain drugs distributed to retail community pharmacies, or (b) the difference between AMP and the “best price” available to essentially any customer other than the Medicaid program and certain other government programs, with certain exceptions. We negotiate rebates with drug manufacturers and, in certain circumstances, sell services to drug manufacturers. Investigations are being and have been conducted by certain government entities which call into question whether a drug’s “best price” was properly calculated and reported with respect to rebates paid by the manufacturers to the Medicaid programs. We are not responsible for such calculations, reports or payments.

Pharmacy Regulation

Our home delivery and specialty pharmacies also subject us to extensive federal, state and local regulation. The practice of pharmacy is generally regulated at the state level by state boards of pharmacy. We are licensed to do business as a pharmacy in the states in which our pharmacies are located. Most of the states into which we deliver pharmaceuticals have laws that require out-of-state home delivery pharmacies to register with, or be licensed by, the board of pharmacy or a similar regulatory body in the state. These states generally permit the pharmacy to follow the laws of the state where the pharmacy is located, although some states require compliance with certain laws in that state as it impacts or relates to drugs distributed or dispensed into those states.

Our various pharmacy facilities also provide services under certain Medicare and state Medicaid programs. Participation in these programs requires our pharmacies to comply with the applicable Medicare and Medicaid provider rules and regulations, and exposes the pharmacies to various changes the federal and state governments may impose regarding reimbursement methodologies and amounts to be paid to participating providers under these programs. In addition, several of our pharmacy facilities are participating providers under Medicare Part D and are required to adhere to certain requirements applicable to Medicare Part D. Additionally, we are subject to CMS rules regarding the administration of our Medicare plans and intercompany pricing between our plans and our pharmacy business.

Other statutes and regulations affect our home delivery and specialty pharmacy operations, including the federal and state anti-kickback laws and the federal civil monetary penalty law described above. Federal and state statutes and regulations govern the labeling, packaging, advertising, adulteration and security of prescription drugs and the dispensing of controlled substances and certain of our pharmacies must register with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and individual state controlled substance authorities. The FTC requires mail order sellers of goods generally to engage in truthful advertising, to stock a reasonable supply of the product to be sold, to fill mail orders within thirty days and to provide clients with refunds when appropriate. The United States Postal Service also has significant statutory authority to restrict the delivery of drugs and medicines through the mail.

Financial Reporting, Internal Control and Corporate Governance

Regulators closely monitor the financial condition of licensed insurance companies and HMOs. States regulate the form and content of statutory financial statements, the type and concentration of permitted investments, and corporate governance over financial reporting. Our insurance and HMO subsidiaries are required to file periodic financial reports and schedules with regulators in most of the jurisdictions in which they do business as well as annual financial statements audited by independent registered public accounting firms. Certain insurance and HMO subsidiaries are required to file an annual report of internal control over financial reporting with most jurisdictions in which they do business. Insurance and HMO subsidiaries’ operations and financial statements are subject to examination by such agencies. Many states have expanded regulations relating to corporate governance and internal control activities of insurance and HMO subsidiaries as a result of model regulations adopted by the NAIC with elements similar to corporate governance and risk oversight disclosure requirements under federal securities laws.

Guaranty Associations, Indemnity Funds, Risk Pools and Administrative Funds

Most states and certain non-U.S. jurisdictions require insurance companies to support guaranty associations or indemnity funds that are established to pay claims on behalf of insolvent insurance companies. Some states have similar laws relating to HMOs and other payors, such as consumer operated and oriented plans (co-ops) established under the ACA. In the United States, these associations levy assessments on member insurers licensed in a particular state to pay such claims. Certain states require HMOs to participate in guaranty funds, special risk pools and administrative funds. For additional information about guaranty funds and other assessments, see Note 22 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

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Certain states continue to require health insurers and HMOs to participate in assigned risk plans, joint underwriting authorities, pools or other residual market mechanisms to cover risks not acceptable under normal underwriting standards, although some states have eliminated these requirements as a result of the ACA.

Solvency and Capital Requirements

Many states have adopted some form of the NAIC model solvency-related laws and risk-based capital (“RBC”) rules for life and health insurance companies and HMOs. The RBC rules recommend a minimum level of capital depending on the types and quality of investments held, the types of business written and the types of liabilities incurred. If the ratio of the insurer’s adjusted surplus to its RBC falls below statutorily required minimums, the insurer could be subject to regulatory actions ranging from increased scrutiny to conservatorship.

In addition, various non-U.S. jurisdictions prescribe minimum surplus requirements that are based upon solvency, liquidity and reserve coverage measures. Our HMOs and life and health insurance subsidiaries, as well as non-U.S. insurance subsidiaries, are compliant with applicable RBC and non-U.S. surplus rules.

The Risk Management and Own Risk and Solvency Assessment Model Act (“ORSA”), adopted by the NAIC, provides requirements and principles for maintaining a group solvency assessment and a risk management framework and reflects a broader approach to U.S. insurance regulation. ORSA includes a requirement to file an annual ORSA Summary Report in the lead state of domicile. To date, an overwhelming majority of the states have adopted the same or similar versions of ORSA. We file our ORSA report annually as required.

Holding Company Laws

Our domestic insurance companies and certain of our HMOs are subject to state laws regulating subsidiaries of insurance holding companies. Under such laws, certain dividends, distributions and other transactions between an insurance company or an HMO subsidiary and its affiliates may require notification to, or approval by, one or more state insurance commissioners. In addition, the holding company acts of states in which our subsidiaries are domiciled restrict the ability of any person to obtain control of an insurance company or HMO subsidiary without prior regulatory approval. State holding company laws and regulations also subject our insurance companies and certain HMO subsidiaries to additional regulatory scrutiny related to their oversight of affiliates performing regulated services on behalf of the insurance company or HMO and require the Company to file an annual Enterprise Risk Report, which summarizes material risks that could pose enterprise risk to the insurance company subsidiaries.

Marketing, Advertising and Products

In most states, our insurance companies and HMO subsidiaries are required to certify compliance with applicable advertising regulations on an annual basis. Our insurance companies and HMO subsidiaries are also required by most states to file and secure regulatory approval of products prior to the marketing, advertising, and sale of such products.

Licensing and Registration Requirements

Our insurance companies and HMO subsidiaries must be licensed by the jurisdictions in which they conduct business. Additionally, certain subsidiaries contract to provide claim administration, utilization management and other related services for the administration of self-insured benefit plans. These subsidiaries may be subject to state third-party administration and other licensing requirements and regulation, as well as third-party accreditation requirements.

We have received full accreditation for Utilization Review Accreditation Commission Pharmacy Benefit Management version 2.2 Standards, which includes quality standards for drug utilization management, and select subsidiaries have received full accreditation for Utilization Review Accreditation Commission for Health Utilization Management version 7.2, which includes quality standards for medical utilization management.

Certain states have adopted pharmacy benefit management registration or disclosure laws. In addition to registration laws, some states have adopted legislation mandating disclosure of various aspects of our financial practices, including those concerning pharmaceutical company revenue, as well as prescribing processes for prescription switching programs and client and provider audit terms.

Our international subsidiaries are often required to be licensed when entering new markets or starting new operations in certain jurisdictions. The licensure requirements for these subsidiaries vary by country and are subject to change.

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International Regulations

Our operations outside the United States expose us to laws of multiple jurisdictions and the rules and regulations of various governing bodies and regulators, including those related to the provision of insurance, financial and other disclosures, the provision of health care-related services, corporate governance, privacy, data protection, data mining, data transfer, intellectual property, labor and employment, consumer protection, direct-to-consumer communications activities, tax, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering. Foreign laws and rules may include requirements that are different from, or more stringent than, similar requirements in the United States.

Our operations in countries outside the United States:

•are subject to local regulations of the jurisdictions where we operate;

•in some cases, are subject to regulations in the jurisdictions where customers reside; and

•in all cases, are subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”).

In particular, in South Korea, regulators are focused on protecting the rights of individual customers by enforcing “Treating Customers Fairly” concepts. This regulatory focus has resulted in rigorous data localization requirements, network separation obligations, and system monitoring restrictions, as well as obligations to closely monitor marketing communications and sales scripts. Anti-money laundering requirements in South Korea and other countries where we do business also may impose obligations to collect certain information about each customer at time of sale or to risk rank each customer to determine possible future money laundering risk.

The FCPA prohibits offering, promising, providing or authorizing others to give anything of value to a foreign government official or employee to obtain or retain business or otherwise secure a business advantage. Outside of the United States, we may interact with government officials in several different capacities: as regulators of our insurance business; as clients or partners who are state-owned or partially state-owned; as health care providers who are employed by the government; as hospitals that are state-owned; and as officials issuing permits in connection with real estate transactions. Violations of the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws may result in severe criminal and civil sanctions as well as other penalties, and the SEC and DOJ have increased their enforcement activities with respect to FCPA. The UK Bribery Act of 2010 applies to all companies with a nexus to the United Kingdom. Under this act, any voluntary disclosures of FCPA violations may be shared with United Kingdom authorities, thus potentially exposing companies to liability and potential penalties in multiple jurisdictions.

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Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

As a large global health service company operating in a complex industry, we encounter a variety of risks and uncertainties, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, results of operations, financial condition or the trading price of our securities. You should carefully consider each of the risks and uncertainties discussed below, together with other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition. These risks and uncertainties are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial may also adversely affect us. The following risk factors have been organized by category for ease of use; however many of the risks may have impacts in more than one category. These categories, therefore, should be viewed as a starting point for understanding the significant risks facing us and not as a limitation on the potential impact of the matters discussed. Risk factors are not necessarily listed in order of importance.

Strategic and Operational Risks

Future performance of our business will depend on our ability to execute our strategic and operational initiatives effectively.

The future performance of our business will depend in large part on our ability to effectively implement and execute our strategic and operational initiatives. Successfully executing on these initiatives depends on a number of factors, including our ability to:

•differentiate our products and services from those of our competitors;

•develop and introduce new and innovative products, solutions or programs that focus on improving patient outcomes and assist in controlling costs or are in response to government regulation and the increased focus on consumer-directed products;

•grow our product portfolio and identify and introduce the proper mix or integration of products that will be accepted by the marketplace;

•evaluate drugs for efficacy, value and price to assist clients in selecting a cost-effective formulary;

•offer cost-effective home delivery pharmacy and specialty services;

•access or continue accessing key drugs and successfully penetrate key treatment categories in our specialty business;

•leverage purchase volume to deliver discounts to health benefit providers;

•attract and retain sufficient numbers of qualified employees;

•attract, develop and maintain collaborative relationships with a sufficient number of qualified partners;

•attract new and maintain existing customer and client relationships;

•transition health care providers from volume-based fee-for-service arrangements to a value-based system;

•improve medical cost competitiveness in our targeted markets;

•manage our medical, pharmacy, administrative, and other operating costs effectively; and

•contract with pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmacy providers on favorable terms.

For our strategic initiatives to succeed, we must effectively integrate our operations, including with Express Scripts and other acquired businesses, actively work to ensure consistency throughout the organization, and promote a global mind-set along with a focus on individual customers and clients. If we fail to do so, our business may be unable to grow as planned, or the result of expansion may be unsatisfactory. We will be unable to rapidly respond to competitive, economic and regulatory changes if we do not make important strategic and operational decisions quickly, define our appetite for risk, implement new governance, managerial and organizational processes smoothly and communicate roles and responsibilities clearly. If these initiatives fail or are not executed effectively, our consolidated financial position and results of operations could be negatively affected.

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We operate in a highly competitive, evolving and rapidly changing industry and our failure to adapt could negatively impact our business.

The health service industry continues to be dynamic and rapidly evolving. Any significant shifts in the structure of the industry could alter industry dynamics and adversely affect our ability to attract or retain clients and customers. Industry shifts could result (and have resulted) from, among other things:

•a large intra- or inter-industry merger or industry consolidation;

•strategic alliances;

•new or alternative business models;

•continuing consolidation among physicians, hospitals and other health care providers, as well as changes in the organizational structures chosen by physicians, hospitals and health care providers;

•new market entrants, including those not traditionally in the health service industry;

•the ability of larger employers and clients to contract directly with providers;

•technological changes and rapid shifts in the use of technology, such as telemedicine;

•the impact or consequences of legislation or regulatory changes;

•changes in the United States Postal Service or the consolidation of shipping carriers;

•increased drug acquisition cost or unexpected changes to drug pricing trend;

•change in the generic drug market or the failure of new generic drugs to come to market;

•a change in drug utilization; or

•a change in utilization under risk-based contracts in the health benefit management market.

Our failure to anticipate or appropriately adapt to changes in the industry could negatively impact our competitive position and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our failure to compete effectively to differentiate our products and services from those of our competitors and maintain or increase market share could materially adversely affect our results of operations, financial position and cash flows.

We operate in a highly competitive environment and an industry subject to significant market pressures brought about by customer and client needs, legislative and regulatory developments and other market factors. In particular markets, our competitors may have greater, better or more established capabilities, resources, market share, reputation or business relationships, or lower profit margin or financial return expectations. Our clients are well informed and organized and can easily move between our competitors and us. Our Express Scripts client contracts generally have three-year terms. As described in greater detail in the description of our business in Item 1 of this Form 10-K, one of our key clients in the Health Services segment is the United States Department of Defense. If one or more of our large clients terminates or does not renew a contract for any reason, including as a result of being acquired, or if the provisions of a contract with a large client are modified, renewed or otherwise changed with terms less favorable to us, our results of operations could be adversely affected and we could experience a negative reaction in the investment community resulting in decreases in the trading price of our securities or other adverse effects.

Our success depends, in part, on our ability to compete effectively in our markets, set prices appropriately in highly competitive markets to keep or increase our market share, increase customers as planned, differentiate our business offerings by innovating and delivering products and services that provide enhanced value to our customers, provide quality and satisfactory levels of service, and retain accounts with favorable medical cost experience or more profitable products versus retaining or increasing our customer base in accounts with unfavorable medical cost experience or less profitable products.

We must remain competitive to attract new customers, retain existing customers, and further integrate additional product and service offerings. To succeed in this highly competitive marketplace, it is imperative that we maintain a strong reputation. The negative

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reputational impact of a significant event, including a failure to execute on customer or client contracts or strategic or operational initiatives, failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, or failure to innovate and deliver products and services that demonstrate greater value to our customers, could affect our ability to grow and retain profitable arrangements, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial position and cash flows.

We face price competition and other pressures that could compress our margins or result in premiums that are insufficient to cover the cost of services delivered to our customers.

While we compete on the basis of many service and quality-related factors, we expect that price will continue to be a significant basis of competition. Our client contracts are subject to negotiation as clients seek to contain their costs, including by reducing benefits offered. Increasingly, our clients seek to negotiate performance guarantees that require us to pay penalties if the guaranteed performance standard is not met. Clients can easily move between our competitors and us. Our clients are well informed and typically have knowledgeable consultants that seek competing bids from our competitors before contract renewal. In addition, as brokers and benefit consultants seek to enhance their revenue streams, they look to take on services that we typically provide. Each of these events could negatively impact our financial results.

Further, federal and state regulatory agencies may restrict our ability to implement changes in premium rates. Fiscal or other concerns related to the government-sponsored programs in which we participate, such as Medicare, may cause decreasing reimbursement rates, delays in premium payments, restrictions on implementing changes in premium rates or insufficient increases in reimbursement rates. Any limitation on our ability to maintain or increase our premium or reimbursement levels, or a significant loss of customers or clients resulting from our need to increase or maintain premium or reimbursement levels, could adversely affect our business, cash flows, financial condition and results of operations.

Premiums in the Integrated Medical segment are generally set for one-year periods and are priced well in advance of the date on which the contract commences or renews. Our revenue on Individual and Family Plans (“IFP”) and Medicare policies is based on bids submitted midyear in the year before the contract year. Although we base the premiums we charge and our IFP and Medicare bids on our estimate of future health care costs over the contract period, actual costs may exceed what we estimate in setting premiums. Our health care costs also are affected by external events that we cannot forecast or project and over which we have little or no control, as well as changes in customers’ health care utilization patterns and provider billing practices. Our profitability depends, in part, on our ability to accurately predict, price for and effectively manage future health care costs. Relatively small differences between predicted and actual medical costs or utilization rates as a percentage of revenue can result in significant changes in our financial results.

Strong competition within the pharmacy benefit business has also generated greater demand for lower product and service pricing, increased revenue sharing and enhanced product and service offerings. These competitive factors have historically applied pressure on our operating margins and caused many companies, including us, to reduce the prices charged for products and services while sharing with clients a greater portion of the formulary fees and related rebates received from pharmaceutical manufacturers. Our inability to maintain positive trends, or failure to identify and implement new ways to mitigate pricing pressures, could negatively impact our ability to attract or retain clients or sell additional services, which could negatively impact our margins and have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

The reserves we hold for expected medical claims are based on estimates that involve an extensive degree of judgment and are inherently variable. If actual claims exceed our estimates, our operating results could be materially adversely affected, and our ability to take timely corrective actions to contain future costs may be limited.

We maintain and record medical claims reserves on our balance sheet for estimated future payments. Our estimates of health care costs payable are based on a number of factors, including historical claim experience, but this estimation process requires extensive judgment. Considerable variability is inherent in such estimates, and the accuracy of the estimates is highly sensitive to changes in medical claims submission and processing patterns or procedures, changes in customer base and product mix, changes in the utilization of prescription drugs, medical or other covered items or services, changes in medical cost trends, changes in our health management practices and the introduction of new benefits and products. If we are not able to accurately and promptly anticipate and detect medical cost trends, our ability to take timely corrective actions to limit future costs and reflect our current benefit cost experience in our pricing process may be limited. Additionally, we must estimate the amount of rebates payable by us under the ACA’s and CMS’s minimum loss ratio rules and the amounts payable by us to, and receivable by us from, the United States federal government under the ACA’s remaining premium stabilization program. Because establishing reserves is an inherently uncertain process involving estimates of future losses, there can be no certainty that ultimate losses will not exceed existing reserves.

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If we fail to develop and maintain satisfactory relationships with physicians, hospitals and other health service providers and with producers and consultants, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

We contract with or employ physicians, hospitals and other health service providers and facilities to provide health services to our customers. Our results of operations are substantially dependent on our ability to contract for these services at competitive prices. In any particular market, physicians, hospitals and health service providers may enter into exclusive arrangements with competitors or simply refuse to contract with us, demand higher payments or take other actions that could result in higher medical costs or less desirable products or services for our customers. In some markets, certain providers, particularly hospitals, physician/hospital organizations and multispecialty physician groups, may have significant or controlling market positions that could result in a diminished bargaining position for us. If providers refuse to contract with us, use their market position to negotiate more favorable contracts or place us at a competitive disadvantage, our ability to market products or to be profitable in those areas could be materially adversely affected. Establishing collaborative arrangements with physician groups, specialist groups, independent practice associations, hospitals and health care delivery systems is key to our strategic focus to transition from volume-based fee-for-service arrangements to a value-based health care system. If such collaborative arrangements do not result in the lower medical costs that we project or if we fail to attract health care providers to such arrangements, or are less successful at implementing such arrangements than our competitors, our attractiveness to customers may be reduced and our ability to profitably grow our business may be adversely affected.

Our ability to develop and maintain satisfactory relationships with providers may also be negatively impacted by other factors not associated with us, such as changes in Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement levels, increasing pressure on revenue and other pressures on health care providers and increasing consolidation activity among hospitals, physician groups and providers. Continuing consolidation among physicians, hospitals and other providers, the emergence of accountable care organizations, vertical integration of providers and other entities, changes in the organizational structures chosen by physicians, hospitals and providers and new market entrants, including those not traditionally in the health care industry, may affect the way providers interact with us and may change the competitive landscape in which we operate. In some instances, these organizations may compete directly with us, potentially affecting the way we price our products and services or causing us to incur increased costs if we change our operations to be more competitive.

Out-of-network providers are not limited by any agreement with us in the amounts they bill. While benefit plans place limits on the amount of charges that will be considered for reimbursement and state regulations seek to establish methodologies and dispute resolution processes, out-of-network providers are increasingly sophisticated and aggressive. As a result, the outcome of disputes where we do not have a provider contract may cause us to pay higher medical or other benefit costs than we projected.

Additionally, certain of our products and services are sold in part through nonexclusive producers and consultants for whose services and allegiance we compete. Our sales could be materially adversely affected if we were are unable to attract, retain and support such independent producers and consultants or if our sales strategy is not appropriately aligned across distribution channels.

If we lose our relationship with one or more key pharmaceutical manufacturers, or if the payments made or discounts provided by pharmaceutical manufacturers decline, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We maintain contractual relationships with numerous pharmaceutical manufacturers, which provide us with, among other things:

•discounts for drugs we purchase to be dispensed from our home delivery and specialty pharmacies;

•discounts, in the form of rebates, for drug utilization;

•fees for administering rebate programs, including invoicing, allocating and collecting rebates;

•fees for services provided to pharmaceutical manufacturers by our specialty pharmacies; and

•access to limited distribution specialty pharmaceuticals by our specialty pharmacies.

Our contracts with pharmaceutical manufacturers are typically nonexclusive and terminable on relatively short notice by either party. The consolidation of pharmaceutical manufacturers, the termination or material alteration of our contractual relationships, or our failure to renew such contracts on favorable terms could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. In addition, arrangements between payors and pharmaceutical manufacturers have been the subject of debate in federal and state legislatures and various other public and governmental forums. Adoption of new laws, rules or regulations or changes in, or new interpretations of, existing laws, rules or regulations, relating to any of these programs could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations.

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If significant changes occur within the pharmacy provider marketplace, or if other issues arise with respect to our pharmacy networks, including the loss of or adverse change in our relationship with one or more key pharmacy providers, our business and financial results could be impaired.

More than 67,700 retail pharmacies, which represent over 99% of all United States retail pharmacies, participated in one or more of our networks as of December 31, 2019. The ten largest retail pharmacy chains represent approximately 65% of the total number of stores in our largest network. In certain geographic areas of the United States, our networks may be comprised of higher concentrations of one or more large pharmacy chains. Contracts with retail pharmacies are generally nonexclusive and are terminable on relatively short notice by either party. If one or more of the larger pharmacy chains terminates its relationship with us, or is able to renegotiate terms substantially less favorable to us, our customers’ access to retail pharmacies or our business could be materially adversely affected. The entry of one or more additional large pharmacy chains into the pharmacy benefit management business, the consolidation of existing pharmacy chains or increased leverage or market share by the largest pharmacy providers could increase the likelihood of negative changes in our relationship with such pharmacies. Changes in the overall composition of our pharmacy networks, or reduced pharmacy access under our networks, could have a negative impact on our claims volume or our competitiveness in the marketplace, which could cause us to fall short of certain guarantees in our contracts with clients or otherwise impair our business or results of operations.

Changes in drug pricing or industry pricing benchmarks could materially impact our financial performance.

Contracts in the prescription drug industry, including our contracts with retail pharmacy networks and our pharmacy and specialty pharmacy clients, generally use pricing metrics published by third parties as benchmarks to establish pricing for prescription drugs. If these benchmarks are no longer published by third parties, we, or our contractual partners, adopt other pricing benchmarks for establishing prices within the industry, legislation or regulation requires the use of other pricing benchmarks, or future changes in drug prices substantially deviate from our expectations, the short- or long-term impacts may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

As a global company, we face political, legal, operational, regulatory, economic and other risks that present challenges and could negatively affect our multinational operations or our long-term growth.

As a global company, our business is increasingly exposed to risks inherent in foreign operations. These risks can vary substantially by market, and include political, legal, operational, regulatory, economic and other risks, including government intervention that we do not face in our U.S. operations. The global nature of our business and operations may present challenges including, but not limited to, those arising from:

•geopolitical business conditions and demands, including the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union;

•regulation that may discriminate against U.S. companies, favor nationalization or expropriate assets;

•price controls or other pricing issues and exchange controls; restrictions that prevent us from transferring funds out of the countries in which we operate; foreign currency exchange rates and fluctuations and restrictions on converting currencies from foreign operations into other currencies; uncertainty with respect to the interpretation of tax positions;

•reliance on local employees and interpretations of labor laws in foreign jurisdictions;

•managing our partner relationships in countries outside of the United States;

•providing data protection on a global basis and sufficient levels of technical support in different locations;

•the global trend for companies to enact local data residency requirements;

•acts of civil unrest, war, terrorism, natural disasters or pandemics, such as the recent coronavirus outbreak, in locations where we operate; and

•general economic and political conditions.

These factors may increase in significance as we continue to expand globally and operating in new foreign markets may require considerable management time before operations generate any significant revenues and earnings. Any one of these challenges could negatively affect our operations or long-term growth. For example, due to the concentration of our international business in South Korea, the International Markets segment is exposed to potential losses resulting from economic and regulatory changes in that

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country and the geopolitical climate in the Korean Peninsula, as well as foreign currency movements affecting the South Korean currency, that could have a significant impact on the segment’s results and our consolidated financial results.

International operations also require us to devote significant resources to implement controls and systems in new markets to comply with, and to ensure that our vendors and partners comply with, U.S. and foreign laws prohibiting bribery, corruption and money laundering, in addition to other regulations regarding, among other things, our products, direct-to-consumer communications, customer privacy, data protection and data residency. Violations of these laws and regulations could result in fines, criminal sanctions against us, our officers or employees, restrictions or outright prohibitions on the conduct of our business and significant reputational harm. Our success depends, in part, on our ability to anticipate these risks and manage these challenges. Our failure to comply with laws and regulations governing our conduct outside the United States or to establish constructive relations with non-U.S. regulators could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and long-term growth.

Strategic transactions, including our acquisition of Express Scripts, involve risks and we may not realize the expected benefits because of integration difficulties, underperformance relative to our expectations and other challenges.

As part of our strategy, we regularly consider and enter into strategic transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, licensing arrangements, divestitures and other relationships (collectively referred to as “strategic transactions”). There is significant competition for attractive targets and opportunities and we may be unable to identify and successfully complete strategic transactions in the future. In addition, from time to time, we evaluate alternatives for our businesses that do not meet our strategic, growth or profitability objectives, and we may divest or wind down such businesses. We may be unable to complete any such divestiture on terms favorable to us, within the expected timeframes, or at all. We may have continued financial exposure to divested businesses following the completion of any such transaction, including increased costs due to potential litigation, contingent liabilities and indemnification of the buyer related to, among other things, lawsuits, regulatory matters or tax liabilities.

Our ability to achieve the anticipated benefits of strategic transactions is subject to numerous uncertainties and risks, including our ability to integrate or separate operations, resources and systems, including data security systems, in an efficient and effective manner. For example, the continued success of the Express Scripts acquisition will depend, in part, on our ability to continue to successfully combine the businesses of Cigna and Express Scripts and realize the anticipated benefits, including synergies, cost savings, innovation and operational efficiencies, from the combination.

Key risks of the Express Scripts integration include, but are not limited to, retaining existing clients and attracting new clients on profitable terms; maintaining employee morale and retaining key management and other employees; consolidating corporate and administrative infrastructures and realizing operational synergies; integrating information technology, communications programs, financial procedures and operations, and other systems, procedures and policies; coordinating geographically separate organizations; and on-going modifications to internal financial control standards.

Integration and separation activities may result in additional and unforeseen expenses, and the anticipated benefits, including with respect to the Express Scripts integration, may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected. These activities are complex, costly and time-consuming and may divert management’s attention from ongoing business concerns. Delays or issues encountered in these activities could have a material adverse effect on the revenues, expenses, operating results and financial condition of the combined company.

Strategic transactions could result in increased costs, including facilities and systems consolidation costs and costs to retain key employees, decreases in expected revenues, earnings or cash flows, and goodwill or other intangible asset impairment charges. Additional unanticipated costs may be incurred in the integration of Express Scripts’ businesses. Although we expect that the elimination of duplicative costs, as well as the realization of other efficiencies related to the integration of those businesses, should allow us to more than offset incremental transaction and merger-related costs over time, this net benefit may not be achieved in the near term, or at all. As of December 31, 2019, our goodwill and other intangible assets had a carrying value of approximately $81 billion, representing 52% of our total consolidated assets. The value of our goodwill may be materially and adversely impacted if the businesses we acquire do not perform in a manner consistent with our assumptions. Future evaluations requiring an impairment to goodwill and other intangible assets could materially affect our results of operations and shareholders’ equity in the period in which the impairment occurs. A material decrease in shareholders’ equity could negatively impact our debt ratings or potentially impact our compliance with existing debt covenants. In addition, the trading price of our securities may decline if, among other things, we are unable to achieve our estimates of earnings growth and operational cost savings, or the transaction costs related to the acquisition and integration are greater than expected. The trading price also may decline if we do not achieve the perceived benefits of the acquisition as rapidly or to the extent anticipated by financial or industry analysts.

Additionally, joint ventures and equity investments present risks that are different from acquisitions, including risks related to: specific operations and finances of the businesses we invest in, selection of appropriate parties, differing objectives of the various

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parties, competition between and among parties, compliance activities (including compliance with applicable CMS requirements), growing the business in a manner acceptable to all the parties, maintaining positive relationships among the parties, clients and customers, initial and ongoing governance of joint ventures, and customer and business disruption that may occur upon a joint venture termination.

Further, we may finance strategic transactions by issuing common stock for some or all of the purchase price that could dilute the ownership interests of our shareholders, or by incurring additional debt that could increase costs and impact our ability to access capital in the future.

In addition, effective internal controls are necessary to provide reliable and accurate financial reports and to mitigate the risk of fraud. The integration of businesses is likely to cause increasing complexity in our systems and internal controls and make them more difficult to manage. Any difficulties in assimilating businesses into our control system could cause us to fail to meet our financial reporting obligations. We also rely on the internal controls and financial reporting controls of joint venture entities and other entities in which we invest and their failure to maintain effectiveness or comply with applicable standards may materially and adversely affect us. Ineffective internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information that could negatively impact the trading price of our securities and our access to capital.

We are dependent on the success of our relationships with third parties for various services and functions.

To improve operating costs, productivity and efficiencies, we contract with third parties for the provision of specific services. Our operations may be adversely affected if a third party fails to satisfy its obligations to us, if the arrangement is terminated in whole or in part or if there is a contractual dispute between us and the third party. Even though contracts are intended to provide certain protections, we have limited control over the actions of third parties. For example, noncompliance with any privacy or security laws and regulations, any security breach involving one of our third-party vendors or a dispute between us and a third-party vendor related to our arrangement could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and reputation.

Outsourcing also may require us to change our existing operations, adopt new processes for managing these service providers or redistribute responsibilities to realize the potential productivity and operational efficiencies. If there are delays or difficulties in changing business processes or our third-party vendors do not perform as expected, we may not realize, or not realize on a timely basis, the anticipated economic and other benefits of these relationships. This could result in additional costs or regulatory compliance issues or create other operational or financial problems for us. Terminating or transitioning, in whole or in part, arrangements with key vendors could result in additional costs or penalties, risks of operational delays or potential errors and control issues during the termination or transition phase. We may not be able to find an alternative vendor in a timely manner or on acceptable terms. If there is an interruption in business or loss of access to data resulting from a security breach, termination or transition in services, we may not be able to meet the demands of our customers and, in turn, our business and results of operations could be adversely impacted.

A significant disruption in service within our operations or among our key suppliers or other third parties could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our business is highly dependent upon our ability to perform, in an efficient and uninterrupted fashion, necessary business functions, such as claims processing and payment, internet support and customer call centers, data centers and corporate facilities, processing new and renewal business, maintaining appropriate shipment and storage conditions for prescriptions (such as temperature and protection from contamination) and home delivery processing. In some instances, our ability to provide services or products (including processing and dispensing prescriptions) depends on the availability of services and products provided by suppliers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, vendors or shipping carriers. A disruption in our supply chain, including, as a result of the recent coronavirus outbreak, or inability to access or deliver products that meet requisite quality safety standards in a timely and efficient manner could adversely impact our business. Additionally, any failure or disruption of our performance of, or our ability to perform, key business functions, including through unavailability or cyberattack of our information technology systems or those of third parties, could cause slower response times, decreased levels of service satisfaction and harm to our reputation. Our information technology and other systems interface with and depend on third-party systems and we could experience service denials if demand for such service exceeds capacity or a third-party system fails or experiences an interruption. Our failure to implement adequate business continuity and disaster recovery strategies could significantly reduce our ability to provide products and services to our customers and clients, which could have material adverse effects on our business and results of operations.

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Our business depends on our ability to effectively invest in, implement improvements to and properly maintain the uninterrupted operation and data integrity of our information technology and other business systems.

Our business is highly dependent on maintaining effective information systems as well as the integrity and timeliness of the data we use to serve our customers and health care providers and to operate our business. If our data were found to be inaccurate or unreliable due to fraud or other error, or if we, or any of the third-party service providers we engage, were to fail to maintain information systems and data integrity effectively, we could experience operational disruptions that may impact our clients, customers and health care providers and hinder our ability to provide services and products, establish appropriate pricing for products and services, retain and attract clients and customers, establish reserves and report financial results timely and accurately and maintain regulatory compliance, among other things.

Our information technology strategy and execution are critical to our continued success. We must continue to invest in long-term solutions that will enable us to anticipate customer needs and expectations, enhance the customer experience, act as a differentiator in the market and protect against cybersecurity risks and threats. Our success is dependent, in large part, on maintaining the effectiveness of existing technology systems and continuing to deliver and enhance technology systems that support our business processes in a cost-efficient and resource-efficient manner. Increasing regulatory and legislative changes will place additional demands on our information technology infrastructure that could have a direct impact on resources available for other projects tied to our strategic initiatives. In addition, recent trends toward greater consumer engagement in health care require new and enhanced technologies, including more sophisticated applications for mobile devices. Connectivity among technologies is becoming increasingly important. We must also develop new systems to meet current market standards and keep pace with continuing changes in information processing technology, evolving industry and regulatory standards and customer needs. Failure to do so may present compliance challenges and impede our ability to deliver services in a competitive manner. Further, because system development projects are long term in nature, they may be more costly than expected to complete and may not deliver the expected benefits upon completion. Our failure to effectively invest in, implement improvements to and properly maintain the uninterrupted operation and data integrity of our information technology and other business systems could adversely affect our results of operations, financial position and cash flow.

As a large health service company, we are subject to cyberattacks or other privacy or data security incidents. If we are unable to prevent or contain the effects of any such attacks, we may suffer exposure to substantial liability, reputational harm, loss of revenue or other damages.

Our business depends on our clients’ and customers’ willingness to entrust us with their health-related and other sensitive personal information. Computer systems may be vulnerable to physical break-ins, computer viruses or malware, programming errors, attacks by third parties or similar disruptive problems. We have been, and will likely continue to be, the target of computer viruses or other malicious codes, unauthorized access, cyberattacks or other computer-related penetrations. There have been, and will likely continue to be, large scale cyberattacks within the health service industry. Additionally, hardware, software or applications we develop or procure from third parties may contain defects in design, manufacturer defects or other problems that could unexpectedly compromise information technology. Human or technological error has and could in the future result in, for example, unauthorized access to, disclosure, modification, misuse, loss, or destruction of company, customer, or other third-party data or systems; theft of sensitive, regulated, or confidential data including personal information and intellectual property; the loss of access to critical data or systems through ransomware, destructive attacks or other means; and business delays, service or system disruptions or denials of service.

As we increase the amount of personal information that we store and share digitally, our exposure to unintended disclosures, data security and related cybersecurity risks increases, including the risk of undetected attacks, damage, loss or unauthorized access or misappropriation of proprietary or personal information, and the cost of attempting to protect against these risks also increases. If disruptions, disclosures or breaches are not detected quickly, their effect could be compounded. We have implemented security technologies, processes and procedures to protect consumer identity and provide employee awareness training around phishing, malware and other cyber risks; however, there are no assurances that such measures will be effective against all types of breaches.

Cybersecurity threats are rapidly evolving and those threats and the means for obtaining access to our proprietary systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Cyberattacks can originate from a wide variety of sources including third parties, such as external service providers, and the techniques used change frequently or are often not recognized until after they have been launched. Those parties may also attempt to fraudulently induce employees, customers or other users of our systems to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our data or that of our customers. In addition, while we have certain standards for all vendors that provide us services, our vendors, and in turn, their own service providers, may become subject to the same types of security breaches. Finally, our offices may be vulnerable to security incidents or security attacks, acts of vandalism or theft, misplaced or lost data, human error or similar events that could negatively affect our systems and our customers’ and clients’ data.

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The costs to eliminate or address security threats and vulnerabilities before or after a cyber-incident could be significant. Our remediation efforts may not be successful and could result in interruptions, delays, or cessation of service and loss of existing or potential customers.

In addition, breaches of our security measures and the unauthorized dissemination of sensitive personal information, proprietary information or confidential information about us, our customers or other third parties could expose our customers' private information and our customers to the risk of financial or medical identity theft. Unauthorized dissemination of confidential and proprietary information about our business and strategy could also negatively affect the achievement of our strategic initiatives. Such events could cause us to breach our contractual confidentiality obligations and violate applicable laws. These events would negatively affect our ability to compete, others’ trust in us, our reputation, customer base and revenues and expose us to mandatory disclosure requirements, litigation and other enforcement proceedings, material fines, penalties or remediation costs, and compensatory, special, punitive and statutory damages, consent orders and other adverse actions, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition or liquidity.

In managing medical practices and operating pharmacies, onsite clinics and other types of medical facilities, we may be subject to additional liability that could result in significant time and expense.

In addition to contracting with physicians and other health care providers for services, we employ physicians, pharmacists, nurses and other health care providers at our home delivery and specialty pharmacies, onsite low acuity and primary care practices and infusion clinics that we manage and operate for our customers, as well as certain clinics for our employees. We also provide in-home care through health care providers that we employ, as well as, through third-party contractors. As such, we may be subject to liability for certain acts, omissions, or injuries caused by our employees or agents, or occurring at one of these practices, pharmacies or clinics. The defense of any actions may result in significant expenses that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and reputation.

Legal and Compliance Risks

Our business is subject to substantial government regulation, as well as new laws or regulations or changes in existing laws or regulations that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

Our business is regulated at the federal, state, local and international levels. The laws and rules governing our business and related interpretations are increasing in number and complexity, are subject to frequent change and can be inconsistent or in conflict with each other. Noncompliance with applicable regulations by us or our third-party vendors could have material adverse effects on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and reputation.

We must identify, assess and respond to new trends in the legislative and regulatory environment, as well as comply with the various existing regulations applicable to our business. There are currently pending, and in the future there will likely be, legislative or regulatory proposals which seek to manage the health care industry, including managing prescription drug costs and health records, as well as regulating drug distribution. We expect federal and state governments to continue to enact and seriously consider many broad-based legislative and regulatory proposals that will or could materially impact various aspects of the health care and related benefits system. The trading price of our securities may react to the announcement of such proposals. We are unable to predict whether any such proposals will be enacted, or the specific terms thereof, including their effect on our operations; however, certain of these proposals could, if enacted, adversely impact our business and results of operations.

Existing or future laws, rules, regulatory interpretations or judgments could force us to change how we conduct our business, affect the products and services we offer, restrict revenue and enrollment growth, increase our costs, including operating, health care technology and administrative costs, and require enhancements to our compliance infrastructure and internal controls environment. For example, a decision invalidating the ACA or portions thereof could result in material changes to the way we conduct our business, as well as the loss of subsidies related to our IFP offerings. We are required to obtain and maintain insurance and other regulatory approvals to, among other things, market many of our products, expand into additional geographic or product markets, increase prices for certain regulated products and consummate some of our acquisitions and dispositions. Delays in obtaining or failure to obtain or maintain these approvals could reduce our revenue or increase our costs. Existing or future laws and rules could also require or lead us to take other actions such as changing our business practices, and could increase our liability.

Further, failure to effectively implement or adjust our strategic and operational initiatives, such as by reducing operating costs, adjusting premium pricing or benefit design or transforming our business model in response to regulatory changes may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows, including, but not limited to, our ability to maintain the value of our goodwill and other intangible assets.

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For more information on regulations affecting our business, see “Business – Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K.

There are various risks associated with participating in government-sponsored programs, such as Medicare, including dependence upon government funding, compliance with government contracts and increased regulatory oversight and enforcement.

Through our Government business, we contract with CMS and various state governmental agencies to provide managed health care services including Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Part D plans. Additionally, our Health Services business provides services to government entities and payers participating in government health care programs.

Our revenues from government funded programs, including our Medicare programs and our government clients, are dependent, in whole or in part, upon annual funding from the federal government or applicable state or local governments. Funding for these programs is dependent on many factors outside our control, including general economic conditions, continuing government efforts to contain health care costs and budgetary constraints at the federal or applicable state or local level and general political issues and priorities. These entities generally have the right to not renew or cancel their contracts with us on short notice without cause or if funds are not available. Unanticipated changes in funding, such as the application of sequestration by the federal or state governments or the failure to provide for continued appropriations or regular ongoing scheduled payments to us, could substantially reduce our revenues and profitability.

The Medicare program has been the subject of regulatory reform initiatives. The premium rates paid to Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Part D plans are established by contract, although the rates differ depending on a combination of factors, some of which are outside our control. For example, a portion of each Medicare Advantage plan’s reimbursement is tied to the plan’s Star Rating, with those plans receiving a rating of four or more stars eligible for quality-based bonus payments. A plan’s Star Rating affects its image in the market and plans that perform well are able to offer enhanced benefits, market more effectively and for longer periods of time than other plans. The Star Rating system is subject to change annually by CMS, which may make it more difficult to achieve four stars or greater. Our Medicare Advantage plans’ and Medicare Part D plans’ operating results, premium revenue and benefit offerings are likely to continue to be significantly determined by their Star Ratings. There can be no assurances that we will be successful in maintaining or improving our Star Ratings in future years. In addition, audits of our performance for past or future periods may result in downgrades to our Star Ratings. Accordingly, our plans may not be eligible for full level quality bonuses, which could adversely affect the benefits such plans can offer, reduce membership or impact our financial performance. See Part II, Item 7 – Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Information – Industry Developments and Other Matters Affecting our Health Services and Integrated Medical Segments for additional information on our Star Ratings.

Additionally, if we fail to comply with CMS’s contractual requirements, including data submission, enrollment and marketing, provider network adequacy, provider directory accuracy, quality measures, claims payment, continuity of care and call center performance, we may be subject to administrative actions, including enrollment sanctions or contract termination, fines or other penalties that could impact our profitability. As described under “Business – Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K, on November 1, 2018, CMS released a proposed rule that would revise its RADV methodology by, among other things, excluding an adjustment for underlying fee-for-service data errors and extrapolating RADV results at the contract level for RADV audits of contract year 2011 and all subsequent years. If adopted in its current form, the rule could result in some combination of degraded plan benefits, higher monthly premiums or reduced choice for the population served by all Medicare Advantage insurers. The Company, along with other Medicare Advantage organizations and additional interested parties, submitted comments to CMS on the proposed rule as part of the notice-and-comment rulemaking process. The comment period concluded on August 28, 2019. While it is uncertain that CMS will finalize the rule as proposed, if adopted, it could have a material impact on the Company’s future results of operations.

Our participation in health insurance exchanges for individuals and small employers through our IFP offerings involves uncertainties associated with mix and volume of business and could adversely affect our results of operations, financial position and cash flows. The executive order signed in October 2017 that halted payment of the cost-sharing reduction subsidies under the ACA has created additional uncertainty regarding the future of public health insurance exchanges.

Any failure to comply with various state and federal health care laws and regulations, including those directed at preventing fraud and abuse in government funded programs, could result in investigations or litigation, such as actions under the federal False Claims Act and similar whistleblower statutes under state laws. This could subject us to damage awards, including treble damages, fines, penalties or other enforcement actions, restrictions on our ability to market or enroll new customers, limits on expansion, restrictions or exclusions from programs or other agreements with federal or state governmental agencies, which could adversely impact our business, cash flows, financial condition, results of operations and reputation.

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We face risks related to litigation, regulatory audits and investigations.

We are routinely involved in numerous claims, lawsuits, regulatory audits, investigations and other legal matters arising, for the most part, in the ordinary course of business. These legal matters could include benefit claims, breach of contract actions, tort claims, claims arising from consumer protection laws, false claims act laws, claims disputes under federal or state laws and disputes regarding reinsurance arrangements, employment and employment discrimination-related suits, antitrust claims, employee benefit claims, wage and hour claims, tax, privacy, intellectual property and whistleblower claims, shareholder suits and other securities law claims, real estate disputes, claims related to disclosure of certain business practices and claims arising from customer audits and contract performance, including government contracts. In addition, we have incurred and likely will continue to incur liability for practices and claims related to our health care business, such as marketing misconduct, failure to timely or appropriately pay for or provide health care, provider network structure, poor outcomes for care delivered or arranged, provider disputes including disputes over compensation or contractual provisions, ERISA claims, allegations related to calculations of cost sharing and claims related to our administration of self-funded business. We are also routinely involved in legal matters arising from our health services business, including without limitation claims related to the dispensing of pharmaceutical products by our home delivery and specialty pharmacies, pharmacy benefit management services, such as formulary management services, health benefit management services and provider services. There are currently, and may be in the future, attempts to bring class action lawsuits against the company and other companies in our industry; individual plaintiffs also may bring multiple claims regarding the same subject matter against us and other companies in our industry.

Court decisions and legislative activity may increase our exposure for any of these types of claims. In some cases, substantial noneconomic or punitive damages may be sought. We seek to procure insurance coverage to cover some of these potential liabilities. However, certain potential liabilities may not be covered by insurance, insurers may dispute coverage or the amount of insurance may be insufficient to cover the entire damages awarded. In addition, certain types of damages, such as punitive damages, may not be covered by insurance, and insurance coverage for all or certain forms of liability may become unavailable or prohibitively expensive in the future. Resolving disputes is often expensive and disruptive, regardless of the outcome. Additionally, it is possible that the resolution of current or future legal matters and claims could result in changes to our industry and business practices, losses material to our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity or damage to our reputation.

We are frequently the subject of regulatory market conduct and other reviews, audits and investigations by state insurance and health and welfare and pharmacy departments, attorneys general, CMS, DOL and the OIG and comparable authorities in foreign jurisdictions. With respect to our Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D businesses, CMS and OIG perform audits to determine a health plan's compliance with federal regulations and contractual obligations, including compliance with proper coding practices and fraud and abuse enforcement practices through audits designed to detect and correct improper payments. Certain of our contracts are currently subject to RADV audits by CMS and the OIG. The DOJ is conducting an industry-wide investigation of the risk adjustment data submission practices and business processes, including review of medical charts, of Cigna and a number of other Medicare Advantage organizations under Medicare Parts C and D. There also continues to be heightened review by federal and state regulators of business and reporting practices within the health service, disability and life insurance industries, including with respect to claims payment and related escheat practices, and increased scrutiny by other federal and state governmental agencies (such as state attorneys general) empowered to bring criminal actions in circumstances that could have previously given rise only to civil or administrative proceedings.

In addition, various government agencies have conducted investigations and audits into certain pharmacy benefit management practices. Many of these investigations and audits have resulted in other companies agreeing to civil penalties, including the payment of money and corporate integrity agreements. We cannot predict what effect, if any, such government investigations and audits may ultimately have on us or on the industry in general. However, we will likely continue to experience government scrutiny and audit activity, which has and may in the future result in civil penalties.

Regulatory audits, investigations or reviews or actions by other government agencies could result in changes to our business practices, retroactive adjustments to certain premiums, significant fines, penalties, civil liabilities, criminal liabilities or other sanctions, including corporate integrity agreements, restrictions on our ability to participate in government programs, market certain products or engage in business-related activities, that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation, financial condition and liquidity. In addition, disclosure of an adverse investigation or audit or the imposition of fines or other sanctions could negatively affect our reputation in certain markets and make it more difficult for us to sell our products and services.

A description of material pending legal actions and other legal and regulatory matters is included in Note 22 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Form 10-K. The outcome of litigation and other legal or regulatory matters is always uncertain.

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If we fail to comply with applicable privacy, security and data laws, regulations and standards, our business and reputation could be materially adversely affected.

Most of our activities involve the receipt, use, storage or transmission of a substantial amount of individuals’ protected health information and personally identifiable information. We also use aggregated and anonymized data for research and analysis purposes, and in some cases, provide access to such data to pharmaceutical manufacturers and third-party data aggregators and analysts. The collection, maintenance, protection, use, transmission, disclosure and disposal of sensitive personal information are regulated at the federal, state, international and industry levels and requirements are imposed on us by contracts with clients. In some cases, such laws, rules, regulations and contractual requirements also apply to our vendors and require us to obtain written assurances of their compliance with such requirements. We are also subject to various other consumer protection laws that regulate our communications with customers. Certain of our businesses are also subject to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, which is designed to protect credit card account data as mandated by payment card industry entities. International laws, rules and regulations governing the use and disclosure of such information, such as the GDPR, can be more stringent than in the United States, and they vary across jurisdictions. In addition, more jurisdictions are regulating the transfer of data across borders and domestic privacy and data protection laws are generally becoming more onerous.

These laws, rules and contractual requirements are subject to change and the regulatory environment surrounding data security and privacy is increasingly demanding. Compliance with new privacy, security and data laws, regulations and requirements may result in increased operating costs, and may constrain or require us to alter our business model or operations. For more information on privacy regulations to which we are subject, see “Business – Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K.

HIPAA requires covered entities to comply with the HIPAA privacy, security and breach rules. In addition, business associates must comply with the HIPAA security and breach requirements. While we endeavor to provide appropriate protections through our contracts with our third-party service providers and in certain cases assess their security controls, we have limited oversight or control over their actions and practices. Several of our businesses act as business associates to their covered entity customers and, as a result, collect, use, disclose and maintain sensitive personal information in order to provide services to these customers. HHS has continued its audit program to assess HIPAA compliance efforts by covered entities and has expanded it to include business associates. In addition, HHS continues to exercise its enforcement authority, such as enforcement actions resulting from investigations brought on by notification to HHS of a breach. An audit resulting in findings or allegations of noncompliance or the implementation of an enforcement action could have an adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position, cash flows and reputation.

Noncompliance or findings of noncompliance with applicable laws, regulations or requirements, or the occurrence of any privacy or security breach involving the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized disclosure of protected personal information, whether by us or by one of our third-party service providers, could materially adversely affect our business and reputation, including our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.

Effective prevention, detection and control systems are critical to maintain regulatory compliance and prevent fraud and failure of these systems could adversely affect us.

Federal and state governments have made investigating and prosecuting health care and other insurance fraud and abuse a priority. Fraud and abuse prohibitions encompass a wide range of activities including kickbacks for referral of customers, billing for unnecessary medical services, improper marketing and violations of patient privacy rights. The regulations and contractual requirements applicable to us are complex and subject to change. In addition, ongoing vigorous law enforcement, a highly technical regulatory scheme and the Dodd-Frank Act and related regulations enhance regulators’ enforcement powers and whistleblower incentives and protections. Our compliance efforts in this area will continue to require significant resources. Failure of our prevention, detection or control systems related to regulatory compliance or the failure of employees to comply with our internal policies including data systems security or unethical conduct by managers and employees, could adversely affect our reputation and also expose us to litigation and other proceedings, fines and penalties.

In addition, provider or customer fraud that is not prevented or detected could impact our medical costs or those of our self-insured clients. Further, during an economic downturn, we may experience increased fraudulent claims volume that may lead to additional costs due to an increase in disputed claims and litigation.

Economic Risks

Economic and market conditions affect the value of our financial instruments and the value of particular assets and liabilities.

As an insurer, we have substantial investment assets that support insurance and contractholder deposit liabilities. The market value of our investments vary depending on economic and market conditions. For example, generally low levels of interest rates on

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investments, such as those experienced in U.S. and foreign financial markets during recent years, have negatively impacted our level of investment income earned in recent periods.

A substantial portion of our investment assets are in fixed interest-yielding debt securities of varying maturities, fixed redeemable preferred securities and commercial mortgage loans. The value of these investment assets can fluctuate significantly with changes in market conditions. A rise in interest rates would likely reduce the value of our investment portfolio and increase interest expense if we were to access our available lines of credit. In addition, a delay in payment of principal or interest by issuers, or defaults by issuers, could reduce our investment income and require us to write down the value of our investments.

Significant stock market or interest rate declines could result in additional unfunded pension obligations resulting in the need for additional plan funding by us and increased pension expenses.

We currently have unfunded obligations in our frozen pension plans. A significant decline in the value of the plans’ equity and fixed income investments or unfavorable changes in applicable laws or regulations could materially increase our expenses and change the timing and amount of required plan funding. This could reduce the cash available to us, including our subsidiaries. We are also exposed to interest rate and equity risk associated with our pension obligations. Sustained declines in interest rates could have an adverse impact on the funded status of our pension plans and our reinvestment yield on new investments. See Note 16 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information on our obligations under the pension plans.

A downgrade in the financial strength ratings of our insurance subsidiaries could adversely affect new sales and retention of current business, and a downgrade in our debt ratings would increase the cost of borrowed funds and could negatively affect our ability to access capital.

Financial strength, claims paying ability and debt ratings by recognized rating organizations are each important factors in establishing the competitive position of insurance and health benefits companies. Ratings information by nationally recognized ratings agencies is broadly disseminated and generally used throughout the industry. We believe that the claims paying ability and financial strength ratings of our principal insurance subsidiaries are important factors in marketing our products to certain customers. Our debt ratings impact both the cost and availability of future borrowings and, accordingly, our cost of capital. Each of the rating agencies reviews ratings periodically and there can be no assurance that current ratings will be maintained in the future. A downgrade of any of these ratings in the future could make it more difficult to either market our products successfully or raise capital to support business growth within our insurance subsidiaries.

Global market, economic and geopolitical conditions may cause fluctuations in equity market prices, interest rates and credit spreads that could impact our ability to raise or deploy capital and affect our overall liquidity.

If the equity and credit markets experience extreme volatility and disruption, there could be downward pressure on stock prices and restricted access to capital for certain issuers without regard to those issuers’ underlying financial strength. Extreme disruption in the credit markets could adversely impact our access to, and cost of, capital in the future.

In the event of adverse economic and industry conditions, we may be required to dedicate a greater percentage of our cash flow from operations to the payment of principal and interest on our debt, thereby reducing the funds we have available for other purposes, such as investments and other expenditures in ongoing businesses, acquisitions, dividends and stock repurchases. In these circumstances, our ability to execute our strategy may be limited, our flexibility in planning for or reacting to changes in business and market conditions may be reduced, or our access to capital markets may be limited such that additional capital may not be available or may be available only on unfavorable terms.

In connection with the combination with Express Scripts, we have considerably higher levels of indebtedness than Cigna and Express Scripts previously carried, which will result in higher relative debt service costs and less cash flow from operations available to fund growth, stock repurchases and other corporate purposes.

The long-term indebtedness of Cigna was approximately $31.9 billion as of December 31, 2019. This level of indebtedness:

•requires us to dedicate a greater percentage of our cash flow from operations to debt payments, thereby reducing the availability of cash flow to fund capital expenditures, pursue other acquisitions or investments in new technologies, make stock repurchases, pay dividends and for general corporate purposes;

•increases our vulnerability to general adverse economic conditions, including increases in interest rates for our borrowings that bear interest at variable rates and are in a greater amount than floating rate assets held, or if such indebtedness is refinanced at a time when interest rates are higher; and

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•limits our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in or challenges relating to our business and industry.

The covenants to which we have agreed in connection with the financing, and our indebtedness and higher debt-to-equity ratio in comparison with that of Cigna or Express Scripts on a recent historical basis, may have the effect, among other things, of restricting our financial and operating flexibility to respond to changing business and economic conditions, creating competitive disadvantages compared with other competitors with lower debt levels during the deleveraging process. If our cash flow and capital resources are insufficient to service our debt obligations, we may be forced to seek additional dividends from our subsidiaries, sell assets, seek additional equity or debt capital or restructure our debt.

Unfavorable developments in economic conditions may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Many factors, including geopolitical issues, future economic downturns, availability and cost of credit and other capital and consumer spending can negatively impact the U.S. and global economies. Our results of operations could be materially adversely affected by the impact of unfavorable economic conditions on our clients and customers (both employers and individuals), health care providers, pharmacy manufacturers, pharmacy providers and third-party vendors. For example:

•Employers may take action to reduce their operating costs by modifying, delaying or canceling plans to purchase our products or making changes in the mix of products purchased that are unfavorable to us.

•Higher unemployment rates and workforce reductions could result in lower enrollment in our employer-based plans (including an increase in the number of employees who opt out of employer-based plans) or our individual plans.

•Because of unfavorable economic conditions or the ACA, employers may stop offering health care coverage to employees or elect to offer this coverage on a voluntary, employee-funded basis as a means to reduce their operating costs.

•Our historical disability claim experience and industry data indicate that submitted disability claims rise under adverse economic conditions.

•If clients are not successful in generating sufficient funds or are precluded from securing financing, they may not be able to pay, or may delay payment of, accounts receivable that are owed to us.

•Our clients or potential clients may force us to compete more vigorously on factors such as price and service to retain or obtain their business.

•Our clients may be acquired, consolidated, or otherwise fail to successfully maintain or grow their business or workforce, which could reduce the number of customers we serve or otherwise result in lower than anticipated utilization of our services.

•A prolonged unfavorable economic environment could adversely impact the financial position of hospitals and other health care providers, potentially increasing our medical costs as these providers attempt to maintain revenue levels in their efforts to adjust to their own economic challenges.

•Our third-party vendors could significantly and quickly increase their prices or reduce their output to reduce their operating costs. Our business depends on our ability to perform necessary business functions in an efficient and uninterrupted fashion.

These factors could lead to a decrease in our customer base, revenues or margins or an increase in our operating costs.

In addition, during and following a prolonged unfavorable economic environment, federal and state budgets could be materially adversely affected, resulting in reduced or delayed reimbursements or payments in federal and state government programs such as Medicare and Social Security or under contracts with government entities. These federal and state budgetary pressures also could cause the government to impose new or a higher level of taxes or assessments on us, such as premium taxes on insurance companies and HMOs and surcharges or fees on select fee-for-service and capitated medical claims. Although we could attempt to mitigate or cover our exposure from such increased costs through, among other things, increases in premiums, there can be no assurance that we will be able to mitigate or cover all of such costs, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

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We are subject to the credit risk of our reinsurers.

We enter into reinsurance arrangements with other insurance companies, primarily to limit losses from large exposures or to permit recovery of a portion of direct losses. We also may enter into reinsurance arrangements in connection with acquisition or divestiture transactions when the underwriting company is not being acquired or sold.

Under all reinsurance arrangements, reinsurers assume insured losses, subject to certain limitations or exceptions that may include a loss limit. These arrangements also subject us to various obligations, representations and warranties with the reinsurers. Reinsurance does not relieve us of liability as the originating insurer. We remain liable to the underlying policyholders if a reinsurer defaults on obligations under the reinsurance arrangement. Although we regularly evaluate the financial condition of reinsurers to minimize exposure to significant losses from reinsurer insolvencies, reinsurers may become financially unsound. If a reinsurer fails to meet its obligations under the reinsurance contract or if the liabilities exceed any applicable loss limit, we will be forced to cover the claims on the reinsured policies.

The collectability of amounts due from reinsurers is subject to uncertainty arising from a number of factors, including whether the insured losses meet the qualifying conditions of the reinsurance contract, whether reinsurers or their affiliates have the financial capacity and willingness to make payments under the terms of the reinsurance contract and the magnitude and type of collateral supporting our reinsurance recoverable, such as holding sufficient qualifying assets in trusts or letters of credit issued. Although a portion of our reinsurance exposures are secured, the inability to collect a material recovery from a reinsurer could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

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Item 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

Item 2. PROPERTIES

Our global real estate portfolio consists of approximately 12.9 million square feet of owned and leased properties. Our domestic portfolio has approximately 10.9 million square feet in 43 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Our international properties contain approximately 2.0 million square feet located throughout the following countries: Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, New Zealand, Oman, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

Our principal domestic office locations include the Wilde Building located at 900 Cottage Grove Road in Bloomfield, Connecticut (our corporate headquarters), Two Liberty Place located at 1601 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Express Scripts’ corporate offices located at and around One Express Way in St. Louis, Missouri. The Wilde Building measures approximately 893,000 square feet and is owned. Express Scripts’ campus measures approximately 1.2 million square feet of leased space and Two Liberty Place measures approximately 322,000 square feet and is leased space.

The home delivery pharmacy operations of our Health Services segment consist of eight order processing pharmacies, eight patient contact centers and four high-volume automated home delivery dispensing pharmacies located throughout the United States. Health Services’ home delivery dispensing pharmacies are located in Arizona, Indiana, Missouri and New Jersey. Health Services also has seven specialty home delivery pharmacies and 38 specialty branch pharmacies.

We believe our properties are adequate and suitable for our business as presently conducted. The foregoing does not include information on investment properties.

Item 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

The information contained under Litigation Matters and Regulatory Matters in Note 22 to the Financial Statements of this Form 10-K, is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not Applicable.

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Information about our Executive Officers

All officers are elected to serve for a one-year term or until their successors are elected. Principal occupations and employment histories are listed below.

MARK L. BOXER, 60, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Cigna beginning April 2011; Deputy Chief Information Officer, Xerox Corporation; and Group President, Government Health Care, for Xerox Corporation/Affiliated Computer Services from March 2009 until April 2011.

DAVID M. CORDANI, 54, Chief Executive Officer of Cigna beginning December 2009; Director since October 2009; President beginning June 2008; and Chief Operating Officer from June 2008 until December 2009.

BRIAN C. EVANKO, 43, President, Government Business beginning November 2017; President, U.S. Individual Business from August 2013 to November 2017; Business Financial Officer, Cigna Global Individual, Health, Life and Accident from September 2012 to August 2013; Chief Actuary, Cigna Global Individual, Health, Life and Accident from December 2008 to September 2012.

NICOLE S. JONES, 49, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Cigna beginning June 2011; Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Lincoln Financial Group from May 2010 until June 2011; Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Cigna from April 2008 until May 2010; and Corporate Secretary of Cigna from September 2006 until April 2010.

MATTHEW G. MANDERS, 58, President, Strategy and Solutions beginning November 2018; President, Government & Individual Programs and Group Insurance from February 2017 through November 2017; President, U.S. Markets from June 2014 until February 2017; President, Regional and Operations from November 2011 until June 2014; President, U.S. Service, Clinical and Specialty from January 2010 until November 2011; and President, Cigna HealthCare, Total Health, Productivity, Network & Middle Market from June 2009 until January 2010.

STEVEN B. MILLER, MD, 62, Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer beginning December 2018; Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, of Express Scripts from October 2007 through December 2018.

JOHN M. MURABITO, 61, Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Services of Cigna beginning August 2003.

ERIC P. PALMER, 43, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer beginning June 2017; Deputy Chief Financial Officer from February 2017 until June 2017; Senior Vice President, Chief Business Financial Officer from November 2015 to February 2017; Vice President, Business Financial Officer, Health Care from April 2012 to November 2015; and Vice President, Business Financial Officer, U.S. Commercial Markets from June 2010 to April 2012.

JASON D. SADLER, 51, President, International Markets beginning June 2014; President, Global Individual Health, Life and Accident from July 2010 until June 2014; and Managing Director Insurance Business Hong Kong, HSBC Insurance Asia Limited from January 2007 until July 2010.

MICHAEL W. TRIPLETT, 58, President, U.S. Markets beginning February 2017; Regional Segment Lead from June 2009 to February 2017.

TIMOTHY C. WENTWORTH, 59, President, Health Services beginning February 2020; President, Express Scripts and Cigna Services from December 2018 until February 2020; Chief Executive Officer of Express Scripts from May 2016 until December 2018; President from February 2014 through December 2018; and Senior Vice President and President, Sales and Account Management from April 2012 until February 2014.

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PART II

ITEM 5. Market for registrant’s common equity, related stockholder matters and issuer purchases of equity securities

The information under the caption “Quarterly Financial Data – Stock and Dividend Data” appears on page 147 of this Form 10-K. As of December 31, 2019, the number of shareholders of record was 35,727. Cigna’s common stock is listed with, and trades on, the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CI”.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The following table provides information about Cigna’s share repurchase activity for the quarter ended December 31, 2019:

(1) Represents shares tendered by employees under the Company’s equity compensation plans as follows: 1) payment of taxes on vesting of restricted stock (grants and units) and strategic performance shares and 2) payment of the exercise price and taxes for certain stock options exercised. Employees tendered 1,169 shares in October, 2,444 shares in November and 5,978 shares in December 2019.

(2) Additionally, the Company maintains a share repurchase program, authorized by the Board of Directors. Under this program, the Company may repurchase shares from time to time, depending on market conditions and alternate uses of capital. The timing and actual number of shares repurchased will depend on a variety of factors, including price, general business and market conditions and alternate uses of capital. The share repurchase program may be effected through Rule 10b5-1 plans, open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions, each in compliance with Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act. The program may be suspended or discontinued at any time. In the fourth quarter of 2019, the Board increased repurchase authority by an additional $4.0 billion. The program does not have an expiration date. From January 1, 2020 through February 26, 2020, the Company repurchased 2.0 million shares for approximately $425 million, leaving repurchase authority at $3.5 billion as of February 26, 2020.

(3) Approximate dollar value of shares is as of the last date of the applicable month.

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Stock Price Performance Graph

The graph below compares the cumulative total shareholder return on our common stock for the five years ended December 31, 2019 with the cumulative total return of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Health Care Providers & Services Index and the Standard & Poor’s Managed Health Care, Life & Health Insurance Indexes. The stock performance shown in the graph is not intended to forecast or be indicative of future performance.

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Item 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The selected financial data should be read in conjunction with Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and the Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes included elsewhere herein.

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Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) is intended to provide information to assist you in better understanding and evaluating our financial condition as of December 31, 2019 compared with December 31, 2018 and our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared with 2018 and 2017. We encourage you to read this MD&A in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Form 10-K”) and the Risk Factors contained in Part 1A of this Form 10-K. For comparisons of our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2018 with 2017 please refer to the previously filed MD&A included in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018.

Unless otherwise indicated, financial information in the MD&A is presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). See Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Form 10-K for additional information regarding the Company’s significant accounting policies. In some of our financial tables in this MD&A, we present either percentage changes or “N/M” when those changes are so large as to become not meaningful. Changes in percentages are expressed in basis points (“bps”).

In this MD&A, our consolidated measures “adjusted income from operations,” earnings per share on that same basis, and “adjusted revenues” are not determined in accordance with GAAP and should not be viewed as substitutes for the most directly comparable GAAP measures of “shareholders’ net income,” “earnings per share” and “total revenues.” We also use pre-tax adjusted income from operations and adjusted revenues to measure the results of our segments.

We use adjusted income from operations as our principal financial measure of operating performance because management believes it best reflects the underlying results of our business operations and permits analysis of trends in underlying revenue, expenses and profitability. We define adjusted income from operations as shareholders’ net income (or income before taxes for the segment metric) excluding realized investment gains and losses, amortization of acquired intangible assets, results of Anthem and Coventry Health Care Inc. (“Coventry”) (collectively, the “transitioning clients”) (see the “Key Transactions and Developments” section of the MD&A for further discussion of transitioning clients) and special items. Cigna’s share of certain realized investment results of its joint ventures reported in the International Markets segment using the equity method of accounting are also excluded. Income or expense amounts excluded from adjusted income from operations because they are not indicative of underlying performance or the responsibility of operating segment management include:

Realized investment gains (losses) including changes in market values of certain financial instruments between balance sheet dates, as well as gains and losses associated with invested asset sales.

Amortization of acquired intangible assets because these relate to costs incurred for acquisitions.

Results of transitioning clients because those results are not indicative of ongoing results.

Special items, if any, that management believes are not representative of the underlying results of operations due to the nature or size of these matters. See Note 23 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for descriptions of special items.

The term “Adjusted revenues” is defined as total revenues excluding the following adjustments: revenue contributions from transitioning clients, special items and Cigna’s share of certain realized investment results of its joint ventures reported in the International Markets segment using the equity method of accounting. We exclude these items from this measure because management believes they are not indicative of past or future underlying performance of the business.

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EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW

Cigna Corporation, together with its subsidiaries (either individually or collectively referred to as “Cigna,” the “Company,” “we,” “our” or “us”) is a global health service organization dedicated to a mission of helping those we serve improve their health, well-being and peace of mind. Our evolved strategy in support of our mission is Go Deeper, Go Local, Go Beyond using a differentiated set of pharmacy, medical, dental, disability, life and accident insurance and related products and services offered by our subsidiaries. For further information on our business and strategy, see Item 1, “Business” in this Form 10-K.

Results for the year ended December 31, 2019 included the results of Express Scripts’ business, whereas results for 2018 only reflected Express Scripts’ results for the period following the acquisition on December 20, 2018 and were not included in 2017. As discussed in Note 23 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, effective in the first quarter of 2019, compensation cost for stock options is now recorded by our segments. Prior year segment information has not been restated for this change.

Financial Summary

Summarized below are certain key measures of our performance for the years ended December 31:

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Consolidated Results of Operations (GAAP Basis)