Dr. Doug Nemecek, who served as Chief Medical Officer of Behavioral Health at Evernorth Health Services, is believed to have departed the organization, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Evernorth, the health services division of The Cigna Group, did not respond to a request for comment. Nemecek’s bio page remains live on evernorth.com, though he no longer appears on the company’s leadership roster—a pattern consistent with other recent Evernorth executive departures.
About Evernorth
Evernorth is the health services division of The Cigna Group, created in 2020 to house Cigna’s portfolio of pharmacy, care, and benefits businesses under a unified brand. It operates as a distinct enterprise within the larger company, selling its services not only to Cigna Healthcare’s own members but to external health plans, employers, and government programs. Its portfolio includes Express Scripts, one of the country’s largest pharmacy benefit managers, as well as Accredo specialty pharmacy, eviCore, and MDLIVE virtual care. Behavioral health sits alongside those businesses as a major service line, with Evernorth describing it as one of the largest and fastest-growing managed behavioral health operations in the industry. Evernorth is the primary revenue engine of The Cigna Group: the division drove the bulk of Cigna’s $274.9 billion in total revenue in 2025, and is projected to generate at least $6.9 billion in pre-tax adjusted income in 2026.
Nemecek’s Tenure
Nemecek joined what would become Evernorth from Allina Behavioral Health Services and built a public profile as one of the most visible clinical voices in managed behavioral health. During his tenure, Evernorth removed prior authorization requirements for routine outpatient mental health and substance use disorder services, doubled the size of its behavioral health provider network over four years, and launched a measurement-based care program across more than 44,000 providers. He served on the board of the Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness and was a frequent presence at industry conferences, where he advocated for data-driven care navigation and early intervention.
Broader Context
If confirmed, the departure would fit a broader pattern of leadership attrition at Cigna and Evernorth over the past year. Eric Palmer, Evernorth’s CEO, departed the company on April 26, 2025, as Cigna consolidated oversight of its insurance and health services divisions under COO Brian Evanko. In November 2025, Cigna appointed Dr. Amy Flaster as enterprise Chief Medical Officer, a role spanning both Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth. The company also announced approximately 2,000 job cuts globally in February 2026, which it described as an effort to drive “greater efficiency across the business.” No successor to Nemecek has been publicly announced.
Editor’s note: Evernorth did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication. Acuity Media Network will update this article if comment is received.
