Humane (NYSE: HUM) will continue to grow its home health segment.
The company’s leaders and executives made that and other plans clear at the company’s investor meeting on Thursday.
“Our focus on continued growth and operational efficiency drove strong year-over-year results and a positive long-term outlook,” Andy Agwunobi, president of Humana’s Home Solutions business, said on the conference call. “Over the past year, CenterWell Home Health’s total same-store occupancy grew 5%, significantly outpacing top competitors that experienced flat to negative growth over the same period.”
CenterWell Home Health completed its rebranding process in September. 1.
Agwunobi said an efficient sales force, employee retention, and key referral relationships at the state and regional levels were behind this growth. That’s why CenterWell was able to see such strong growth.
While organic growth has worked well for Humana so far, mergers and acquisitions are still on the agenda.
“M&A is an important way to drive profitable growth and support our strategic priorities, such as improving nurse capacity and expanding our value-based model,” Agwunobi said. “We will continue to actively monitor the market for accretive acquisitions and joint venture opportunities, which we expect to become more numerous in the short to medium term.”
Labor challenges have slowed the overall growth of the home healthcare industry, but Agwunobi believes Humana can take advantage of the fragmented market.
“The industry is also highly fragmented, with the top 20 home health players accounting for less than a third of the market,” he said. “We believe this presents an opportunity for further growth through mergers and acquisitions. CenterWell Home Health has about 6% market share. , is the market leader in this fragmented industry and is well positioned to continue to be the leader in future growth in its core business.”
Humana continues to see positive momentum in Medicare Advantage (MA).
Alan Wheatley, president of Humana’s retail division, also said the company sees a growing value proposition for MA.
“Medicare Advantage drives improved health outcomes, and members of MA are healthier than those who enroll in Original Medicare,” Wheatley said. “The MA Health Plan and the healthcare providers who provide care for our members prioritize preventive care. By working together, we are transforming the way healthcare is delivered in this country and delivering dramatically improved health outcomes for our clients. ”
Humana President and CEO Bruce Broussard said the home health business also solidified Humana’s position as the market leader in home health.
“The complex patient population in our home health business presents an opportunity for payment and care model innovation by moving toward a value-based model,” said Broussard. “We believe home care will become an increasingly important and important aspect of care in the future, Our assets provide us with options and new growth vehicles as we move forward.”