MD Live: Convenient, Cost-effective, High-Quality Virtual Health Care 

Each year, millions of Americans weigh their need for medical care against transportation, caretaking responsibilities, work schedules, and other logistical issues. The proximity and accessibility of health care services play a large role in social determinants of health, where those who navigate consistent obstacles to care are more likely to experience negative health outcomes. Cost is another common barrier to necessary preventive and even urgent care. 

MD Live by Evernorth is a leading provider of virtual health care services, delivering simple, convenient, and affordable access to the highest quality medical and behavioral health care, around the clock, from the comfort and safety of patients’ homes. Since its inception, MD Live has differentiated itself from other virtual care providers by working directly with health plans, health systems, and self-insured employer partners to serve their member populations. 

Turning a Vendor Relationship into a Strategic Partnership 

Well before the COVID-19 pandemic brought virtual care into headlines, MD Live and The Cigna Group saw a critical need for virtual care offerings and an opportunity to expand access to care services through telemedicine. When MD Live was founded in 2009, it focused on providing virtual urgent care services. MD Live first engaged with The Cigna Group in 2013 to give Cigna Healthcare members access to 24/7/365 virtual consultations for non-emergency medical issues. The partnership was the first step toward The Cigna Group’s vision of connected, provider-guided care that is easy to access. “We have this core belief that care is going to move to a state where it’s delivered more in the home and more virtually,” said Craig Cimini, Head of The Cigna Group Ventures. 

In 2018, The Cigna Group Ventures co-led a growth investment round for MD Live to change the relationship from vendor-customer to strategic partners. The partnership helped position MD Live as a leader in the virtual care market and enabled both companies to scale the relationship into different service lines and offerings.  

Advancing Virtual Care Services and Accessibility  

Following The Cigna Group Ventures’ investment in MD Live, leadership on both sides began to focus on expanding MD Live’s services into areas of health care where greater access was needed, including behavioral health, dermatology, and primary care. The business also scaled from servicing only commercial health plans to include Medicare Advantage and Individual and Family Plans.  

Throughout this evolution, MD Live’s partnership with Cigna Healthcare tightened and transformed, with The Cigna Group Ventures facilitating introductions to different service lines within Cigna Healthcare. In December 2019, Cigna Healthcare added behavioral services via MD Live. The next month, in January 2020, Cigna Healthcare and MD Live partnered to launch annual wellness screenings.

As mainstream telehealth adoption picked up during the pandemic, MD Live saw utilization spike across all plans including Cigna Healthcare. MD Live saw particularly rapid growth in its behavioral health business and invested in growing its team of licensed psychiatrists and therapists to meet clinical demand. The pandemic also spurred the Cigna Healthcare team to have more formal conversations around the future of virtual care and how it fit into The Cigna Group’s long-term strategy.

In January 2021, Cigna Healthcare made MD Live the sole vendor for its telehealth program. And in April 2021, Evernorth Health Services – part of The Cigna Group, completed its acquisition of MD Live. Following the acquisition, MD Live continued adding more virtual care services in primary, urgent, behavioral, and dermatology care while increasing its chronic condition management.  

Nationally Recognized Care that Meets Patients Where They Are    

Today, MD Live is a leading platform for provider-guided care – one that was named among TIME’s inaugural list of the World’s Top HealthTech Companies 2025, earning an “outstanding” ranking in the Telehealth and Treatment category. 

“We have seen firsthand the power of expanding access and simplifying care experiences to improve health outcomes with our MD Live service,” said Heather Dlugolenski, senior vice president of Home Pharmacy and Virtual Care for Evernorth Health Services. “Through our robust provider network and tech-forward approach, we deliver scale, savings, and satisfaction to patients when and where they need us.”   

Delivering on High-Quality, Integrated Care 

MD Live offers a comprehensive suite of services – from primary care for preventive and chronic condition management, to 24/7 urgent care for over 80 common medical conditions, to specialty care. These services are all accessible virtually, and all connected within the plan’s network/employer’s benefits package.  

This access to integrated care results in meaningful improvements in patient health and lower costs: 

• Seeing an MD Live provider is a fast, cost-effective avenue to care, saving clients an average $290 per urgent care visit.
• MD Live has saved clients over $2.7 billion dollars since 2019.  

While urgent care remains a core offering, MD Live has expanded its footprint to prioritize holistic, preventive care options through flexible modalities.  

MD Live recently introduced asynchronous E-Treatment, through which patients answer a few questions and receive treatment in less than ten minutes on average. Asynchronous care is a fast solution for low-acuity and high-demand issues with a straightforward path to treatment. Since the April 2024 launch of this new service, MD Live has seen 83% of patient cases resolved without escalation to other treatment.  

Behavioral care with MD Live has met a critical need in the market, offering patients access to board-certified psychiatrists and licensed therapists as the United States grapples with mounting mental health needs and a shortage of providers. Appointments with MD Live behavioral care experts happen quicker than traditional office visits, with patients seen in as a little as five days or less – compared to a national average of three weeks.  

With an industry-leading NPS score of 74 and 93% percent client satisfaction rate, MD Live is inspiring people to rethink virtual care expectations.  

Meaningful Improvements in Health Outcomes

Accelerating Provider-Guided Care  

For both MD Live and The Cigna Group Ventures, the partnership was a true success. The vision is now set on leading virtual care in both quality and experience. 

MD Live has gone from being a vendor to a strategic partner to now a core part of our care offerings within Evernorth Health Services. 

– Craig Cimini, Head of The Cigna Group Ventures 

MD Live reached unicorn status while The Cigna Group Ventures was an active investor. The Cigna Group Ventures exited the company at a full valuation, but the strong relationship continued throughout MD Live’s integration into Evernorth Health Services. The Cigna Group Ventures continues to support MD Live’s growth by facilitating partnership opportunities with its new and existing portfolio companies. 

Through its focus on provider-guided care today, MD Live is empowering members with personalized healthcare experiences tailored to meet their needs. MD Live’s high-touch approach customizes communications, scheduling, and even care pathways to balance clinical needs with individual preferences.  

“MD Live plays a vital role in the broader care delivery ecosystem, and we continually challenge ourselves to help patients improve their health in the easiest, most seamless way,” Dlugolenski said. “Having MD Live as part of The Cigna Group and Evernorth Health Services further enables us to use our scale and scope to make a meaningful impact – all in service of our patients.”