Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Tampa Bay news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Charlotte news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Photo: Julia Rendleman/Getty Images for Eventive Marketing
Cigna finally pulled the trigger on selling its life and disability insurance business, netting $5.3 billion after taxes from New York Life.
The big picture: Health insurers have been divesting products that have less to do with actual medical care and instead combining with companies that sell drug benefits
Yes, but: That money isn't resulting in lower health premiums.
- Cigna said it would use $3 billion from the New York Life deal to buy back stock, while the rest will go toward paying down the debt associated with its Express Scripts acquisition.
Speaking of stock buybacks, four of the five major insurers (Anthem, Cigna, Humana and UnitedHealth Group) have now bought back $13.2 billion worth of their stock this year, according to financial filings analyzed by Axios.
- That's roughly what it would cost to cover the annual premiums of benchmark health plans for almost 2.4 million people on the ACA's marketplaces next year, based on Kaiser Family Foundation data.
Go deeper: Health care profits dip, but stocks soar