What you should know:
– ŌURA and Cigna healthcare have announced a strategic collaboration intended to integrate continuous biometric knowledge with expertise in preventive care and chronic disease management.
– The partnership builds on ŌURA’s previous work with Essence, a Medicare Advantage plan, demonstrating the evolution of the wearable’s role from a consumer device to a payer-aligned clinical-grade prevention tool.
I. Transfer funds from well-being to proactive prevention
The collaboration seeks to redefine how employers use allocated wellness funds. Cigna Healthcare allows its customers to take advantage of “use it or lose it” wellness money to purchase the Oura ring for employees at a significant discount, sometimes up to 45%. This strategy aims to divert allocated funds toward prevention by putting medical-grade sensors directly on employees’ fingers.
Maximize ROI through high utilization
Historically, employees have used only 60% of welfare stipends provided by their employers, leaving a substantial amount 40% of allocated welfare funds not used in 2024. The ŌURA form factor addresses this core utilization challenge:
- High compliance: The Oura Ring offers high compliance with an average wear time of ~23.5 hours/day.
- Quickly perceived benefits: New users report quickly perceived benefits within 30 days, including better overall health (90%), better sleep (88%), reduced stress (81%), and increased productivity (79%).
This high engagement makes Oura Ring a great choice for benefit programs where utilization is important.
Impact on the management and costs of chronic diseases
For Cigna payers, connecting ŌURA’s continuous biometric data (including sleep, activity and stress signals) with Cigna’s clinical expertise offers important benefits:
- Cost reduction: The integration is expected to lead to lower PMPM (per member per month) costs, particularly for chronic and comorbid populations.
- Early Intervention: Continuous biometric monitoring allows for earlier intervention and better recovery, strengthening continuity of care and improving cardiometabolic outcomes.
Select Cigna Healthcare customers offer a complimentary Oura Ring 4 and a prepaid annual Oura membership to eligible employees, making wellness and recovery a daily practice.
