Cigna broadens health-and-wellness offerings with Kronos acquisition

BLOOMFIELD, Conn. Cigna is expanding its onsite health capabilities by acquiring Kronos Optimal Health Co., a Phoenix-based health-and-wellness company that specializes in lifestyle management programs, face-to-face coaching, biometric screenings and health education programs.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 2002, Kronos is a provider of worksite wellness and has served as a vendor for Cigna for several years. With a contracted network of about 13,000 health coaches, health educators and screeners across the United States, Kronos will support Cigna's onsite programs as well as continuing to provide health management services to its existing clients.

Cigna Onsite Health offers full-service onsite clinics, pharmacy services, one-on-one health coaching, biometric screenings and flu shots andonsite/online health improvement programs delivered in a classroom setting, as well as employee assistance programs. It is led by a management team experienced in operating multi-specialty group practices, urgent care centers, pharmacies, laboratory services and convenient care clinics.

The acquisition demonstrates the importance of employer-based healthcare. In fact, a recent report by Watson Wyatt (now part of Towers Watson) and the National Business Group on Health states that 72% of employers already have enhanced their onsite offerings with programs geared toward stress management, EAPs or health coaches, or expect to do so in the next 12 months. The report also found that companies with effective health and productivity programs are also more likely to have lower healthcare costs, lower levels of absenteeism, fewer lost days because of  disabilities and lower levels of turnover relative to their industry peers.