Cigna, Express Scripts Join Amazon Alexa For New Voice Skills

Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI) along with Express Scripts (NASDAQ:ESRX) has collaborated with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Alexa on introducing two voice skills for dispensing more engaging and seamless medical care to customers. With the aid of Alexa skills, selected customers will be able to use the voice technology for managing their own prescriptions, getting involved in the medical improvement programs and tracking their incentives.

With this deal, Cigna is being able to cater to their customers’ needs, irrespective of where they are — at residences or while travelling, etc.

Notably, the Express Scripts voice skill is now available to patients, who use Express Scripts’ prescription home delivery services. Customers can not only check their prescription order status via Alexa but can even get notified of the time when the orders are received, processed and shipped. Customers can save money by getting the maintenance medications shipped to their houses at lower cost, have more privacy and better medication adherence as well.

In order to drive better health outcomes, Cigna is also piloting Cigna Health Today, an innovative voice skill with the intention of improving proactive health engagement with one of its national clients.

Eligible staff can even trace their personal wellness incentives, such as redeemable gift dollars and receiving daily wellness tips by using the same.

Per a study conducted by Cigna on more than 2,00,000 customers over a span of three years, health incentives actually doubled the chances of an individual getting treated and working on their health recovery. Last year, Cigna allocated more than $255 million in cost savings back to customers for the completion of above 4.5 million health goals.

These new voice skills enhance both Cigna’s and Express Scripts’ overall voice capabilities. Last March, Cigna unveiled Amazon Alexa skill with an aim to simplify health information. This “Answers by Cigna” solution offers easy responses to more than 250 commonly-asked questions and was recently extended to incorporate Medicare-related terms.

Shares of this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company have lost 3.8% in a year’s time against its industry’s growth of 11.7%.

Other Stocks to Consider

Investors interested in the medical sector can also take a look at some other top-ranked stocks like Anthem Inc (NYSE:ANTM) , Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) and WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:WCG) , each carrying a Zacks Rank of 2.You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Anthem and subsidiaries operate as a health benefits company in the United States. In the last four quarters, the company delivered average beat of 7.1%.

Centene operates as a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise in the United States. The company came up with average earnings surprise of 4.99% in the trailing four quarters.

WellCare Health offers managed care services to government-sponsored health care programs. The company pulled off average positive surprise of 15.43% in the preceding four quarters.

Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2019

In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-holds for the year?

Who wouldn't? Our annual Top 10s have beaten the market with amazing regularity. In 2018, while the market dropped -5.2%, the portfolio scored well into double-digits overall with individual stocks rising as high as +61.5%. And from 2012-2017, while the market boomed +126.3, Zacks' Top 10s reached an even more sensational +181.9%.

See Latest Stocks Today >>