Humana Will Begin Transitioning Senior Services Into New Brand

Humana has announced that some of its senior services and other payer-agnostic services will begin to transition into CenterWell, the payer’s newest brand.

Transitioning various services into the CenterWell brand will take one to two years, the payer estimated. Humana will phase in its payer-agnostic senior services first. The new brand will encompass both Partners in Primary Care and Family Physicians Group, which will be known as “CenterWell Senior Primary Care” starting in April 2021.

“This new brand reflects the fact that our care-services businesses are growing and maturing – such as our payer-agnostic senior-focused primary care centers – and we need a brand that speaks to how we put our members and patients at the center of everything we do,” said Humana President and CEO Bruce D. Broussard.

“When we place the individual at the center, focus on their individual needs and personalize the care we deliver to them, we have our best opportunity to help them be well and achieve their best health.”

The senior CenterWell services will include 41 primary care facilities that were formerly Partners in Primary Care and 24 primary care centers from Family Physicians Group.

These are scattered across Florida, Kansas, Nevada, and a few southern states. The collection of states is expanding, with the company planting four to six centers in Georgia in 2021. Humana will also add a few more centers in Houston, Texas and in Lafayette and North Shore in Louisiana, and in Nevada.

In addition to the facilities that are already open, Humana plans to add 20 new centers to the CenterWell Senior Primary Care during 2021 and 2022.

“The growth is part of Humana’s strategy to improve the health of seniors through a value-based health ecosystem that brings simplicity and connectivity to health care,” the press release explained.

These centers employ a coordinated care model that provides seniors with a primary care provider who is in charge of coordinating care. The team of individuals that this primary care provider brings into the senior’s care routine could include a clinical pharmacist, social worker, or care coach, among other healthcare professionals.

In addition to care coordination, CenterWell will seek to embrace a whole-person approach to health, one that emphasizes not only physical health but also emotional and social wellbeing.

“Our patients have grown accustomed to the highest level of care, and nothing will change that. In fact, the transition to CenterWell Senior Primary Care reinforces our commitment to an integrated, value-based care model that puts our senior patients and their unique physical, social and emotional needs at the center of their own wellness journeys,” said Reneé Buckingham, Segment President of Humana’s Care Delivery Organization.

“Our highly trained and dedicated physicians and clinicians bring to life our patient-centered, whole-person approach to care, which is geared to individual needs and specifically designed to address chronic conditions, wellness and social needs that influence health.”

Not all Humana senior care centers will become part of CenterWell. Centers that operate under Conviva—a Humana brand located mainly in the south which includes 90 senior primary care centers—will not adopt the CenterWell brand.

This brand transition is but one in a string of announcements the payer has made in recent months.

In February alone, the company launched a Medicare Advantage value-based care model for hospice, started a program to help seniors with chronic disease management, and announced a partnership with IBM Watson Health to enhance its member engagement approach.

Additionally, a lawsuit involving Humana that had lasted for around seven years finally came to a close. Humana and Roche Diagnostics Corp. and Roche Diabetes Care, Inc. settled with a whistleblower for a potential Anti-Kickback and False Claims Act violation.