Dive Transient:
- Cigna is suing CVS in an try to forestall its former pharmacy advantages president Amy Bricker from taking a job with the corporate.
- In keeping with a lawsuit filed Thursday in a Missouri federal court docket, Bricker’s appointment as chief product officer of CVS’s shopper phase locations Cigna’s commerce secrets and techniques in danger and is a violation of Bricker’s noncompete settlement. Beforehand, Bricker was president of Cigna’s PBM Specific Scripts — a serious competitor of CVS Caremark.
- Together with unspecified damages, Cigna requested the court docket situation an order stopping Bricker from working at CVS.
Dive Perception:
CVS Caremark and Cigna’s Specific Scripts are two of the biggest PBMs in America. Together with the third largest — UnitedHealth’s OptumRx — they management practically 80% of the prescription drug market, and continuously jockey for pharmacy contracts.
CVS introduced Monday that Bricker would function chief product officer of its shopper unit starting in February, simply days after Cigna introduced Bricker was leaving the corporate after greater than two years as Specific Scripts’ president.
Nonetheless, Bricker’s appointment at CVS — Cigna’s “chief competitor,” in response to the criticism — represents “incalculable” injury to her outdated employer, and requires that Bricker “inevitably require her to make use of and disclose Cigna’s confidential and commerce secret enterprise info for the good thing about her new employer,” in response to the go well with.
Solely 16 of Cigna’s greater than 70,000 staff are sure by noncompetes, in response to the lawsuit. Bricker, as one of many highest-paid staff on the firm, was considered one of them, the go well with says. Below the settlement, Bricker is prevented from offering providers to a Cigna competitor for 2 years.
On Jan. 10, Bricker notified Cigna that she was declining a proposal to affix its govt management crew, and would as a substitute be working for CVS on its govt crew. Bricker is slated to steer a newly shaped product technique and innovation operate for shopper well being merchandise at CVS and can work throughout enterprise models, together with people who compete with Cigna’s well being providers phase Evernorth.
Evernorth, which incorporates Specific Scripts, accounts for a rising share of Cigna’s income.
Bricker was “aware about the enterprise’s extra extremely delicate info” provided that her submit reported on to the CEO of Evernorth, the criticism alleges. That info spans all facets of Evernorth’s enterprise, together with product improvement plans, strategic path, provide chain and shopper and well being plan relationships.
Bricker additionally ready and contributed to Cigna’s enterprise proposals when the payer was competing with CVS, together with helping in Cigna’s PBM contract win over CVS for the enterprise of well being insurer Centene, one of many largest Medicaid managed care organizations within the U.S. Earlier than Cigna secured the enterprise in October, Centene’s PBM contract was managed by CVS.
That contract represents some 20 million customers and billions of {dollars} in income. CVS has stated the lack of the contract will lead to a $2 billion decline in income in 2024. It additionally resulted in a six-figure spot bonus for Bricker, the go well with stated.
CVS’s supply of employment to Bricker represents “a determined effort by CVS to retaliate for the lack of this enterprise by poaching Cigna’s chief in growing aggressive bids for its Evernorth division,” the go well with alleges.
Noncompete agreements have been a latest scorching subject in healthcare after the Federal Commerce Fee proposed a ban on noncompete clauses in early January. Regulators have argued they make it not possible for employees to go away for rivals, miserable employee wages and limiting competitors.
If finalized, the proposal would bar future noncompetes, together with invalidating present ones.
