Cigna Removes Addl 600+ Medical Services From Prior Authorization

Cigna Group’s Cigna Healthcare said it has removed nearly 25 percent of medical services from prior authorization or precertification requirements. With the move, the health benefits provider aims to simplify the health care experience for both customers and clinicians.

The company will also remove prior authorization for nearly 500 additional codes for Medicare Advantage plans later this year.

The latest removal of more than 600 additional codes would bring the total removal from prior authorization since 2020 to more than 1,100 medical services.

According to the company, prior authorization, or precertification, is a review that helps protect patient safety and improve affordability by increasing adherence to evidence-based standards of care.

With the latest update, prior authorization now applies to less than four percent of medical services for most Cigna Healthcare customers.

Cigna Healthcare said it continues to streamline its use to optimize care delivery.

Scott Josephs, Chief Medical Officer, Cigna Healthcare, said, “Prior authorizations are an important step to ensure patient safety and affordability, but clinicians and health plans alike agree that more can be done to reduce the administrative burden on clinicians. We will continue to engage with clinicians to align on care delivery goals and outcomes and evaluate whether there are other changes we can make without compromising patient safety.”

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U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Edge Modestly Lower

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw a modest decline in the week ended August 12th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 239,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 250,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 240,000 from the 248,000 originally reported for the previous week.

“So far, there is no sign that the shutdown of the Yellow trucking company on July 31 has boosted initial jobless claims; that closure affected about 30k employees,” said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.

She added, “While labor markets remain tight and job openings are still high, hiring in the trucking industry has slowed recently, with job losses in June and July so we expect at some point some of these workers will be filing for jobless benefits.”

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 234,250, an increase of 2,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 231,500.

The report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also rose by 32,000 to 1.716 million in the week ended August 5th.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims still fell to 1,692,750, a decrease of 8,250 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 1,701,000.

Crystal Clean Now Subject To Customary No-shop Provisions Pursuant To Agreement With JFLCO

Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc. (HCCI) announced the expiration of the go-shop period pursuant to the terms of the definitive merger agreement pursuant to which an investment affiliate of J.F. Lehman & Company has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Crystal Clean common stock for $45.50 per share in cash, or approximately $1.2 billion. Crystal Clean said it did not receive any competing acquisition proposals during the period.

Upon expiration of the go-shop period, Crystal Clean became subject to customary no-shop
provisions that limit its ability to solicit alternative acquisition proposals.

The transaction is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Unifi Down 15% After Reporting Q4 Loss

Shares of Unifi, Inc. (UFI) are down 15% on Thursday after the company reported a loss for the fourth quarter.

UFI currently trades on the New York Stock Exchange at $6.16, down 15.03% or $1.09 per share. It has traded between $6.16 and $13.20 in the past 52-week period.

The company reported a net loss of $15.3 million or $0.85 per share for the quarter, compared to a net income of $3.5 million or $0.19 per share the prior year.

On an adjusted basis, it reported a loss of $7.0 million or $0.39 per share, compared to the income of $2.1 million or $0.11 per share the previous year.

Analysts on average had expected a loss of $0.27 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue increased to $151.1 million from $217.6 million the previous year. It beat the consensus estimate of $147.90 million.

Splunk Stock Rises 13% On Narrower Q2 Loss And Revised Guidance

Shares of Splunk Inc. (SPLK) are rising 13.75 percent on Thursday after reporting a narrower loss in the second quarter and revising guidance.

Splunk is currently trading at $113.67, up $13.74 or 13.75 percent. The stock opened its trading at $110.48 after closing Wednesday’s trading at $99.93. The stock has traded between $65.00 and $114.59 in the past 52-week period.

The company reported loss of $63.24 million, or $0.38 per share for the second quarter, lower than $209.71 million, or $1.30 per share in the comparable quarter last year.

Excluding one-time items, the company reported earnings of $134.77 million or $0.71 per share. The analyst estimates were $0.79 per share.

Revenue in the quarter was $910.58 million, compared with $798.75 million last year.
Looking forward to the full year 2024, the company projected revenue to be between $3.925 billion and $3.95 billion.
Previously, it had projected the revenue to be $3.9 billion.
Looking forward to the full year 2024, the company projected non-GAAP operating margin to be between 21.0% and 21.5%.
Previously, it had projected the non-GAAP operating margin to be between 18% and 18.5%.