Company: CI
Filing Date: 2025-02-27
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001739940-25-000009
Chunk: 7

Company: Cigna Group
Filing Date: 2025-02-27
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 7
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 significant changes occur within the pharmacy provider marketplace, or if other issues arise with respect to our pharmacy networks, including the loss of or adverse change in our relationship with one or more key pharmacy providers, our business and financial results could be adversely affected.

More than 67,000 pharmacies participated in one or more of our networks as of December 31, 2024. The ten largest retail pharmacy chains represent approximately 60% of the total number of stores in our largest network. In certain geographic areas of the United States, our networks may be comprised of higher concentrations of one or more large pharmacy chains. Contracts with retail pharmacies are generally nonexclusive and are terminable on relatively short notice by either party. If one or more of the larger pharmacy chains terminates its relationship with us, or is able to renegotiate terms substantially less favorable to us, our customers' access to retail pharmacies or our business could be materially adversely affected. The entry of one or more additional large pharmacy chains into the pharmacy benefit management business, the consolidation of existing pharmacy chains, or increased leverage or market share by the largest pharmacy providers could increase the likelihood of negative changes in our relationship with such pharmacies. Changes in the overall composition of our pharmacy networks, including changes due to legislative, regulatory or executive action, or reduced pharmacy access under our networks, could have a negative impact on our claims volume or our competitiveness in the marketplace, which could cause us to fall short of certain guarantees in our contracts with clients or otherwise impair our business or results of operations.

Changes in drug pricing or industry pricing benchmarks could materially impact our financial performance.

Contracts in the prescription drug industry, including our contracts with retail pharmacy networks and our pharmacy and specialty pharmacy clients, generally use pricing metrics published by third parties as benchmarks to establish pricing for prescription drugs. If these benchmarks are no longer published by third parties, we, or our contractual partners, adopt other pricing benchmarks for establishing prices within the industry, legislation or regulation requires the use of other pricing benchmarks, or future changes in drug prices substantially deviate from our expectations, the short- or long-term impacts may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Additionally, laws such as the Inflation Reduction Act have granted CMS the ability to negotiate drug prices for high-cost Part D and Part B drugs, and other federal and state legislative proposals and executive actions can lead to residual effects as drug companies adjust pricing strategies for broader marketplaces, impacting which medications are prioritized.

Our business depends on our ability to effectively invest in, implement improvements to and properly maintain the