Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) continues to grow its home healthcare segment.
Company leaders and executives revealed that and other plans at the company’s investor meeting on Thursday.
Andy Agnobi, president of Humana’s home solutions business, said on the conference call. “In the past year, CenterWell Home Health has increased its total same-store visitor numbers by 5%, significantly outperforming its top competitors, which have experienced flat to negative growth over the same period.”
CenterWell Home Health completed the rebranding process on September 1st.
Agwunobi attributes that growth to an efficient sales team, a sustained workforce, and the establishment of key referral relationships at the state and local levels. That’s why CenterWell has experienced such strong growth.
So far, Humana’s organic growth has worked well, but M&A remains on the agenda.
“M&A is an important avenue to drive profitable growth and support strategic priorities such as improving nurse competencies and scaling value-based models,” said Agwunobi. “We continue to actively monitor the market for aggressive acquisition and joint venture opportunities, which we expect to become increasingly available in the short to medium term.”
Labor issues have slowed growth across the home healthcare industry, but Agwunobi is confident Humana can take advantage of a fragmented market.
“The industry is highly fragmented, with the top 20 home health companies accounting for less than a third of the total market share,” he said. “We believe this will provide further growth opportunities through mergers and acquisitions. With approximately 6% market share, CenterWell Home Health is the market leader in this fragmented industry and will continue to be our core business. We are well positioned to continue to be a leader in the growth of
Humana continues to show positive momentum in Medicare Advantage (MA).
The company recognizes that MA’s value proposition continues to improve, also said Alan Wheatley, Humana’s president of retail.
“Medicare Advantage promotes improved health outcomes, and MA members are healthier than those who enrolled in original Medicare,” Wheatley said. “The MA health plan and the health care providers who provide care to its members prioritize preventive care. We can improve a lot.”
The home health business also underpins Humana’s position as the market leader in home health care, said Bruce Broussard, president and CEO of Humana.
“Complex patients in our home health business offer opportunities for payment and care model innovation through a shift to value-based models,” said Broussard. “We believe home care will become an increasingly relevant and important aspect of care in the future, and our assets offer options and new growth vectors as that future unfolds.”