Patient groups, advocates, and providers have seen disturbing media reports about Cigna’s recent letter to patients and providers regarding the use of Cosentyx. In the letter, patients are encouraged to switch  to a Cigna-preferred drug, as Cosentyx was removed from the preferred drug list. To further encourage  patients to switch to another drug, Cigna is incentivizing individuals with a $500 debit card. The letter also  suggests a number of Cigna-preferred brand options, many of which are not of the same mechanism of  action. 

This non-medical advice, paired with a financial incentive for the express purpose of moving a stable patient  to a different drug, circumvents shared decision-making in the provider-patient relationship and  undermines the doctor’s advice on what medicines and treatments are best. Targeting patients and  enticing them with a financial incentive, particularly during a pandemic – where finances and employment  for many are uncertain and patients taking Cosentyx are already experiencing heightened fear of serious  illness or death – makes this letter not only unethical, but unconscionable. 

AARDA, Let My Doctors Decide, and the undersigned organizations believe your recent action regarding  Cosentyx is an example of coercing a non-medical switch that can potentially harm those suffering from  autoimmune diseases and other chronic conditions.

Read the Full Letter