During an earnings call on Wednesday, Humana executives called attention to the ongoing financial impact of the pandemic, which contributed to a loss for the fourth quarter of $274 million, or $2.07 diluted earnings per share. But CEO Bruce Broussard also cited the company’s 11% growth in Medicare Advantage membership, and gave props to the company’s healthcare services segment: home care, pharmaceuticals and providers.
Broussard cited the company’s continued efforts to deliver primary and post-acute care in the home through investments in home care providers such as Heal and DispatchHealth. He also pointed to the success of Humana’s Kindred at Home in managing the successful transition to a new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services payment model. And he spoke about implementing a new operating system to drive further operating model advancements in 2021.
“We’re reducing downstream emergency room visits and hospital admissions,” Broussard said. “Scaling these programs will provide meaningful quality and cost improvements in 2021 and beyond.”
Broussard noted that Humana’s pharmaceutical business processed 478 prescriptions in 2020 and is now the fourth-largest pharmacy benefits manager and that its providers business ended the year with 156 wholly-owned primary centers after opening 15 new facilities.
During the fourth quarter, the company’s healthcare services revenue rose by 8.8% to $7.29 million from $6.69 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. For the 2020 fiscal year, the company earned $3.37 billion.
