https://mailchi.mp/12e6f7d010e1/the-weekly-gist-february-24-2023?e=d1e747d2d8

On Thursday, Louisville, KY-based Humana announced it will wind down its Employer Group Commercial Medical Products business over the next two years. The company said its exit from all fully insured, self-funded, and federal employee medical plans—a book of business that shrunk to under 1M lives in 2022—will allow the company to focus more on its Medicare Advantage (MA) offerings, which covered over 5M lives in 2022. Humana is currently the second largest MA payer behind UnitedHealthcare. 

The Gist: In a move signaled earlier this month, Humana has chosen to double down on its more profitable MA business, rather than continuing to compete with other major payers in the shrinking employer-sponsored commercial market. Humana already offers MA plans in 89 percent of US counties, more than UnitedHealthcare, but its 2022 MA growth was only a third of United’s (250K new lives enrolled, versus 750K). 

This move allows Humana to devote more resources to fielding competitive MA plan offerings and integrating its growing portfolio of physician and postacute care assets.