Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) released its annual “Impact Report” Wednesday, highlighting how it believes it’s making health care “more equitable and accessible for each person.”
Its current and future home-based care initiatives were highlighted throughout, lending further insight into the breadth of the company’s resources and goals.
“Expanding access to healthcare: Humana integrated CenterWell home health, pharmacy and primary care services throughout 2021 and 2022, which has allowed the company to lower care costs and increase the value of care,” the company wrote in its report.
Humana’s CenterWell – which includes primary care, home health care and pharmacy – includes what used to be Kindred at Home’s home health network. Since it took over, Humana has used primary care and its payer knowledge to turn the home health network into a value-based care accelerator.
By the end of 2022, the goal was to get about 15% of its Medicare Advantage (MA) members under a value-based model that includes home health care. For Humana, that roughly means 1.3 million beneficiaries.
“For us as an organization, we have a rich opportunity in Medicare Advantage. We are growing our Medicare and Medicaid businesses quite well,” Humana CEO Bruce Broussard said recently. “And, our CenterWell provider assets are doing quite well.”
Overall, CenterWell Home Health has a network that includes over 15,000 employees – including nurses, doctors, therapists, social workers, home health aides and more – 350,000 annual patients and more than 350 locations spanning 40 states.
Humana also has the opportunity to leverage both sides of the aisle that generally separates home health care players and MA players.
While it is leveraging home health care in its own value-based model for its beneficiaries, it can also use CenterWell to reach more payers in need of home health services.
“The home health, pharmacy and primary care businesses are payer-agnostic, so the impact of our transformative care can reach beyond Humana members,” the report read.
The company also mentioned that it outperformed the national average in Stars scores, “earning 4.5- and 5-star ratings in quality of care and 5 stars in patient satisfaction” for home health care.
On the advocacy front, Humana will likely be on the forefront of the movement of home-based care companies aiming to drive better policy in Washington, D.C., for that type of care.
“With a focus on improving clinical outcomes and advancing affordability and access, Humana’s approach to advocacy and public policy is built around people,” the report read. “To that end, our day-to day-efforts are centered around supporting policies that strengthen MA; accelerate value-based care in the home; expand opportunities to serve patients through primary and home-based care; integrate clinical solutions; create affordability for prescription drugs; and address barriers to care by addressing the root causes of poor health.”
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