Cigna 2009 Annual Report Download - page 6

4 Letter to Our Shareholders
Our focus is to design
programs that drive
health care quality up
and costs down.
Specifi cally:
• Full-year adjusted income from operations for our three ongoing businesses was modestly
above 2008 results and represents solid performance given the challenging economic,
political and competitive environment. Full-year 2009 HealthCare adjusted income from
operations was $729 million. This result primarily refl ects lower operating expenses and
continued solid contributions from our specialty businesses, partially offset by lower
membership, primarily due to disenrollment related to national unemployment, and a higher
medical care ratio in the guaranteed cost business due in part to H1N1 fl u-related claims.
• Full-year 2009 adjusted income from operations in our Group Disability and Life segment
was $279 million, a modest year-over-year increase. This result refl ects favorable accident
and disability claims experience, along with continued delivery of competitively attractive
margins driven by the disability management programs purchased by our customers.
• In our International segment, full-year 2009 adjusted income from operations was
$182 million. While lower than 2008, this refl ects a solid result in diffi cult economic times
marked by higher-than-expected claims and unfavorable foreign currency movements.
This business continues to deliver competitively strong margins, and we are pleased with
the long-term growth prospects.
As we move into 2010, the United States continues to debate how
best to ensure all Americans have access to quality, affordable health
care coverage. We unequivocally believe health care needs to be
reformed. The three fundamental issues of access, cost and quality
of service must be addressed in a sustainable way if we are to achieve
true health care reform. The sustainable solution to health care in the
United States – or anywhere in the world that has a growing problem
with rising sickness and the associated costs – is to focus on health
improvement. Helping people stay healthy and reducing health risks is the only way to stem
the tide of preventable disease and premature death. No matter the fi nal outcome of health care
reform efforts, our focus remains the same: to design programs that drive health care quality up
and costs down, without compromising our service delivery.
We want the CIGNA brand to be the symbol of health leadership in mature as well as growing
markets around the world. CIGNA products, such as integrated personal health teams, wellness
programs and disability programs that help people get back to work faster than our competition,
focus on improving individual health – physically, behaviorally and fi nancially. We initiated this
strategy several years ago when we determined that we would be a company that helps customers
stay well and prevent illness and injury rather than a traditional insurance company that solely
pays claims and works with customers when they are sick or hurt. We continue to offer personal
health coaching to help customers reach their health goals and develop new tools that enable
customers to better understand and manage the cost of their care.