Recently, Humana Inc. (HUM) announced that it will collaborate with MinuteClinic, the retail health care division of CVS Caremark (CVS), which has been an in-network provider for Humana since 2006, on activities aimed at expanding access to convenient health care services for Humana-members. The agreement will result in increased focus on the management of routine illnesses, identifying and managing care related deficiencies, and making screenings available to identify risk factors resulting in chronic illnesses.
The agreement will see the Louisville-based Humana open a health clinic for its employees and dependents in downtown Louisville in 2010. It will be jointly operated by MinuteClinic and Humana’s subsidiary LifeSynch. Furthermore, the Humana-subsidiary will also join forces with MinuteClinic to provide Humana-members access to health screenings and illness management at about 500 MinuteClinic locations across the United States .
As per the agreement, the members of the health insurer will be encouraged to visit MinuteClinic locations for blood pressure testing, cholesterol screenings in addition to weight and body-mass index monitoring. Consequently, these members can take advantage of the existing health coaching services provided by LifeSynch in addition to the new facilities.
We believe that this move by Humana will provide its members, employees and their dependents with increased access to healthcare related facilities which will enable them to monitor their health in a better manner. The new facilities for the members should also encourage non-members to undertake Humana memberships. The increased membership will result in higher revenues, thus helping to sustain growth.
Humana Inc., founded in 1964, is one of the largest health care plan providers in the United States, with approximately 10.3 million medical members and approximately 7.3 million specialty-benefit members. The company competes with other big players in the industry such as Aetna Inc. (AET), CIGNA Corp. (CI) and UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (UNH).
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