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Humana Boosts Primary Care Presence, and Adds AI

Analysis  |  By Eric Wicklund  
   July 25, 2024

The insurer plans to open 23 new senior primary care centers in Walmart Supercenters, and is partnering with Google Cloud to boost its AI capabilities

Amid pullbacks by several large disruptors, Humana is reinforcing its presence in the primary care landscape.

The insurer announced this week that it would open 23 new senior primary care centers at Walmart Supercenter retail stores in Florida, Texas, Georgia, and Missouri. The clinics, operating under the CenterWell Senior Primary Care and Conviva Care Centers brands, join roughly 300 other Humana-branded clinics in 15 states.

In addition, Humana this morning announced a multi-year partnership with Google Cloud to enhance its cloud platform and leverage AI for healthcare innovation.

“Embracing technology solutions in healthcare can help lower costs and improve consumer experiences,” Humana CEO Jim Rechtin said in a press release. “At Humana, we plan to use the capabilities offered by Google Cloud to make it easier for our members and patients to have affordable access to the right care at the right time. Google Cloud’s technology platform can make our contact centers more responsive, our provider networks easier to navigate, healthcare coverage easier to understand and primary care better tailored to individual needs.”

The two announcements come at a time when retail giants Walmart, Walgreens, CVS Health, and Amazon are either shutting down or consolidating their primary care and virtual care plans, citing challenges to creating a sustainable (or profitable) business model.

Healthcare executives aren’t exactly surprised at those decisions.

"For primary care practices, when you buy them and then you think you can run them profitably by just being behind the scenes, having a standardized billing system, it's ludicrous," former Banner Health CEO Peter Fine said in a recent HealthLeaders interview. "We're going to see a lot more crashing and burning because they think this is just an easy business to get into and they're not always totally sure of how to handle insurance and not totally sure about really understanding the behaviors of the consumer."

Humana’s expansion aims to rebut that trend by focusing on population health—in particular, the senior care market, which is expected to grow significantly over the next six years. The insurer, which acquired locations in Texas and Nevada last year from Cano Health and announced plans this year to move into North Carolina and Louisiana, aims to give its members a branded primary care option.

“These nearly two dozen primary care centers are specifically designed for seniors, and each location’s design, including dedicated entrances and easy parking, offers patients the access that they have come to expect at our clinics across the nation,” CenterWell President Sanjay Shetty, MD, said in a press release. “We are eager to expand on our mission to help patients lead happier, healthier lives.”

In collaborating with Google Cloud, Humana is jumping on the fast-moving AI bandwagon, which promises to improve care through administrative efficiency and data analysis.

"By combining Humana's deep understanding of healthcare with Google Cloud's cutting-edge AI and cloud technologies, Humana can unlock new possibilities for operational efficiency, clinical insights, and personalized care,” Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said in a press release.

Eric Wicklund is the associate content manager and senior editor for Innovation at HealthLeaders.


KEY TAKEAWAYS

Retail giants like Walmart, Walgreens, CVS Health, and Amazon are shuttering or consolidating their primary care and virtual care ambitions, saying they can’t see a path to sustainability.

Humana is countering that trend with plans to develop senior primary centers inside retail locations and give its members a branded option.

The insurer is also collaborating with Google Cloud to enhance its healthcare platform with AI technology.


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