Humana - HUM STOCK NEWS

CenterWell Senior Primary Care and Conviva, Humana's primary care brands, announced expansion plans for 2025, targeting 20-30 new centers across 10 states and four new metro areas. The expansion includes new locations in Augusta and Savannah (Georgia), the Triad Region (North Carolina), and Wichita (Kansas).

As the nation's largest senior primary care provider, the organization currently serves approximately 390,000 seniors across more than 340 centers as of December 31, 2024. The expansion includes completing the opening of 11 Walmart co-located centers by mid-2025.

The companies operate under a value-based care model, with physicians spending up to 50% more time with patients compared to typical providers. A Harvard University and Humana Health Research study confirmed their model offers better access to primary care compared to other organizations.

Humana and Monogram Health have announced a significant expansion of their comprehensive kidney care program. The expansion extends in-home treatment access for Medicare Advantage members with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) across Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and now Georgia.

The collaboration focuses on value-based care, enabling earlier interventions and reaching new patients, particularly in Georgia. The program provides evidence-based nephrology and multispecialty care in patients' homes, addressing not only kidney disease but also underlying conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and metabolic disorders.

This initiative is particularly significant as chronic kidney disease affects approximately 37 million Americans, with nearly 15% of the Medicare-aged population in Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana having CKD - among the highest prevalence rates nationwide. The program aims to address the notable gap in specialized care access, as most CKD patients have never consulted a nephrologist.

Humana (HUM) reported a fourth quarter 2024 net loss of $5.76 per share on a GAAP basis and an adjusted net loss of $2.16 per share. For full-year 2024, the company reported earnings of $9.98 per share (GAAP) and $16.21 (adjusted).

The company's Insurance segment Adjusted benefit ratio was 91.9% in Q4 2024, including a 20-basis point increase related to Star Ratings investments. For 2025, Humana expects GAAP EPS of approximately $15.88 and adjusted EPS of approximately $16.25.

Notably, Humana anticipates an individual Medicare Advantage membership decline of approximately 550,000 members (10%) from 2024, due partly to exiting certain unprofitable plans and counties. The company is advancing its Medicaid and CenterWell strategies, which are expected to drive increased earnings contribution over the mid and longer term.

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) released its annual Value-Based Care Report, demonstrating significant improvements in patient outcomes through value-based care (VBC) arrangements. The report shows that Medicare Advantage patients under VBC had 32.1% fewer inpatient admissions compared to Original Medicare, and experienced 11.6% fewer ER visits and 7.2% fewer admissions than non-VBC arrangements.

Key findings reveal VBC members had 10% more primary care visits in 2023, with a 90/100 satisfaction rate. The model achieved 25.8% savings in medical costs compared to Original Medicare, which Humana reinvests in member benefits. Black patients visited senior-focused primary care 39% more frequently, while low-income beneficiaries had 21% more visits versus Original Medicare. In specialty care, VBC nephrology programs showed 5% fewer unnecessary hospitalizations compared to fee-for-service models.

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) has announced it will release its fourth quarter 2024 (4Q24) financial results on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, at 6:30 a.m. Eastern time. The company will hold a live Q&A session at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time to discuss quarterly results and 2025 earnings guidance.

Participants can join via telephone by pre-registering through the provided link or access the webcast through Humana's Investor Relations page. The company recommends joining 15 minutes before the call starts. The presentation archive will be available approximately two hours after the live webcast.

The earnings release will include non-GAAP financial measures, with reconciliations to GAAP results provided on the company's website.

Humana (NYSE: HUM) has appointed Japan Mehta as its new Chief Information Officer, effective Q1 2025. Mehta will lead the company's digital and technology organization, data systems, and technology transformation vision. He succeeds Sam Deshpande, who will retire at the end of 2024 and transition to an IT advisory role.

Mehta joins from Citi, where he served as Chief Data Officer, bringing over two decades of experience in technology leadership. He previously held CIO positions at Citi Global Wealth and Global Consumer Technology. Mehta holds 35 patents across technology sectors and has a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Wisconsin.

Mays Business School at Texas A&M University and Humana (NYSE: HUM) announced the winners of their 2024 Healthcare Analytics Case Competition. The competition, in its eighth year, attracted over 900 master's-level students from 74 U.S. universities. The University of Louisville team won first place, followed by Boston University and Oklahoma State University teams.

This year's challenge focused on improving Medicare health plan member engagement with Primary Care Providers (PCPs). Participants developed predictive models to identify members unlikely to visit their PCP and proposed strategies to increase engagement. The competition was open to graduate students from accredited master's programs in business, healthcare, or analytics.

AM Best has downgraded Humana Health of Puerto Rico Group's subsidiaries' ratings while affirming ratings for Humana Inc. and most health insurance subsidiaries. The Puerto Rico group's Financial Strength Rating was lowered to B+ from B++ with a negative outlook, following significant operating losses since 2023. The downgrade reflects weakening risk-adjusted capitalization and substantial operating losses, particularly in Medicare Advantage operations.

For Humana's main health subsidiaries, AM Best affirmed an A (Excellent) rating with stable outlook. However, the group faces challenges in its Medicare Advantage business due to increased medical costs and regulatory factors affecting payment rates and Star Ratings. Despite these pressures, Humana maintains strong market position and diversification through its CenterWell segment.

Humana (NYSE: HUM) announced that Celeste Mellet will succeed Susan Diamond as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective January 11, 2025. Diamond is stepping down after an 18-year career at Humana, including over three years as CFO. She will continue serving in an advisory role through the end of 2025 to ensure a smooth transition. Diamond's contributions included leadership across Medicare, Home Solutions and finance teams, notably helping navigate through COVID-19 and dynamic utilization trends.