David Cordani, president and CEO of Cigna Corporation, talks with Audie Cornish about the practical implications of having the Affordable Care Act upheld. Cigna is one of the biggest health care companies in the country, insuring more than 11 million people.
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
We’re joined now by David Cordani, president and CEO of CIGNA Corporation. CIGNA is one of the biggest health care companies in the country, insuring more than 12 million people, including some of us here at NPR.
Mr. Cordani, welcome to the program.
DAVID CORDANI: Good to be with you today.
CORNISH: So I’d like to get your reaction to the Supreme Court’s ruling today.
CORDANI: Yeah, the most important part of the ruling today is that it provides clarity in terms of what the court’s decision is around the law and the individual mandate. Which means more peace of mind for individuals, continuity of services, continuity of programs which we think is positive for everybody.
CORNISH: At the same time, listening to politicians, it doesn’t sound totally like the dust has settled because they’re already talking about having another vote to repeal, in just two weeks in the House, anyway. Does it help or hurt for lawmakers to continue to litigate this after the court’s had its say?
CORDANI: Yeah, from a Cigna standpoint, we don’t have a point of view in terms of what lawmakers should be doing. What we have is a point of view in terms of what will create a dynamic and vibrant market and that means we got to get back to putting individuals front and center and we need to talk more than just expanding insurance programs. We need to talk about how do we make sure we improve health.
CORNISH: So, Mr. Cordani, you say it’s not about the politics, but how can it help the market for lawmakers to keep litigating this past a ruling?
CORDANI: And as we look at large scale entitlement reform in the United States, there has been a multi-year process that has unfolded. And I’m not saying that it’s the right process or not, but I’m trying to be pragmatic relative to that. What we have to do is we have to step back and put the customers’ needs front and center and we…
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