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Cigna drops new AI-powered, copay-only health plan

Cigna announces Clearity, a new copay-only health plan that leverages AI tools to engage members and maximize cost savings.

Jacqueline LaPointe
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Published: 19 Nov 2025

Cigna Healthcare is seeking to make healthcare pricing more transparent with a new copay-only health plan that leverages artificial intelligence for an enhanced digital experience.

The payer announced earlier this week the introduction of the Clearity health plan, which uses a tiered copay model without deductibles or coinsurance. The plan comes with five design packages for employers to choose from, with each including up to four in-network tiers and one out-of-network tier.

Cigna also stated that each Clearity design package will utilize capabilities such as patient reviews and provider insights, allowing users to access the information they need to select the most suitable care options. Members will be able to view the information through new digital tools from Cigna, including an AI virtual assistant that uses generative AI for personalized, conversational answers to member questions about benefits coverage and claims, among other options.

The Clearity health plan also comes with natural language processing capabilities to enable members to search for providers and services, as well as their out-of-pocket costs.

"We designed the Clearity plan to support a wide range of people who are looking for a simpler health insurance experience," Erin Lenox, president of national accounts for Cigna's U.S. Employer business, said in the announcement. "From tech-savvy employees and healthy individuals who prefer pay-as-you-go options to those who may skip care due to high deductibles and financial barriers, Clearity by Cigna Healthcare offers a better path to care."

Growing popularity of nontraditional health plans

Copay-only health plans are not the most popular options for employers, but they are becoming increasingly common in the large employer and marketplace markets as people seek cost savings.

Healthcare costs are projected to rise by 9.6% in the U.S. in 2026, following a hike of 9.7% this year, according to WTW’s 2026 Global Medical Trends report. Over half of payers surveyed for the report who said they are planning on cost increases also anticipate costs to continue to grow for more than three years.

In response to rising costs, premiums are also on the rise. KFF's 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey recently found the annual family premium for employer-based coverage rose 6% in 2025, nearing $27,000 per year. Workers ended up paying an average of about $6,850 toward those premiums.

The financial pressure is mounting, prompting employers to seek alternative health plan options for employees who are also overwhelmed by rising healthcare costs. These plans that forgo the traditional deductible or coinsurance structure in favor of copays can save plan sponsors between 6-8% of their total spend, McKinsey & Company reports.

Cigna is just the latest to introduce a copay-only plan. UnitedHealthcare offers the Surest plan, which utilizes provider-specific copays to guide members to affordable care. More than one in four of the payer's largest customers offer Surest, up from one in nine in 2023.

Surest also relies heavily on the member's digital experience to support the copay-only plan. In these plans, members are encouraged to take a more active role in their care to maximize savings. Digital tools are key to providing and delivering cost information to members for effective engagement.

Jacqueline LaPointe is a graduate of Brandeis University and King's College London. She has been writing about healthcare finance and revenue cycle management since 2016.

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