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Humana's (HUM) CenterWell Unit Plans Expansion in Indiana

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Humana Inc.’s (HUM - Free Report) brand CenterWell recently announced its expansion plans across Indiana, which include the inauguration of four senior-focused primary care centers in the Indianapolis city of the state all throughout 2023 and 2024. This marks the brand’s first entry into the city and the strength of CenterWell centers can only solidify the brand’s presence throughout Indianapolis.

The opening of its first center, CenterWell Irvington, in Indianapolis is scheduled for Nov 16 of this year. The center has already started treating patients last month along with CenterWell Indy West, CenterWell Eagledale and CenterWell Pendleton Pike, the inauguration dates of which have not yet been disclosed.

The abovementioned four CenterWell Senior Primary Care locations will offer patients easy access to a certified care team specially trained to cater to the unique needs of the senior population. The team comprises physicians, nurse practitioners, behavioral health specialists, social workers and referral specialists. The CenterWell centers will also have activity centers, the benefits of which can be reaped by the entire aging populace of the Indianapolis area.

The CenterWell brand holds promising expansion plans and a significant motive behind such plans is to offer greater convenience to seniors of different U.S. communities by making primary care available at locations close to their homes. This will eliminate hindrances to care for the medically vulnerable population and subsequently, serve their physical, mental, emotional and social needs.

Thereby, expansion plans that actually result in a growing number of senior-focused primary care centers may attract more senior patients to avail its highly beneficial lucrative services. The CenterWell facilities of Indiana treat patients covered under varied Medicare Advantage or Original Medicare health plans. Therefore, access to the centers’ services can be made possible by enrolling in the abovementioned plans.

The resultant benefit of such enrollment may be reaped in the form of growing membership for Humana, which boasts a solid Medicare business. Contract wins and renewals from federal and state authorities or fruitification of expansion plans keep on bolstering membership growth and fetch improved premiums, which are the most significant contributor to a health insurer’s top line. As of Sep 30, 2023, its Medicare Advantage membership rose 14.7% year over year.  

CenterWell Senior Primary Care, along with Conviva Care Center, forms the Primary Care Organization of Humana, which serves 285,000 seniors across roughly 300 centers situated in 15 states as of Sep 30, 2023. An aging U.S. population also substantiates the timeliness of CenterWell’s promising expansion plans.

Shares of Humana have declined 5.6% in the past six months against the industry’s 10.1% growth. HUM currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks in the Medical space are Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (LGND - Free Report) , DexCom, Inc. (DXCM - Free Report) and Encompass Health Corporation (EHC - Free Report) . While Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), DexCom and Encompass Health carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).  You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Ligand Pharmacueticals’ earnings outpaced estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 67.19%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LGND’s 2023 earnings indicates a rise of 6.5% from the year-ago reported figure. The consensus mark for LGND’s 2023 earnings has moved 2.4% north in the past 60 days.

The bottom line of DexCom beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 36.43%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DXCM’s 2023 earnings indicates a rise of 62.1% surge, while the same for revenues suggests an improvement of 23.5% from the corresponding year-ago reported figures. The consensus mark for DXCM’s 2023 earnings has moved 14.6% north in the past 30 days.

Encompass Health’s earnings outpaced estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 17.33%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EHC’s 2023 earnings indicates a rise of 22.8% from the year-ago reported figure. The consensus mark for EHC’s 2023 earnings has moved 1.4% north in the past 30 days.

The Encompass Health stock has gained 4.4% in the past six months. However, shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals and DexCom have declined 28.2% and 17.4%, respectively, in the same time frame. 

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