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Humana (HUM) Inks Value-Based Deal to Offer Better Kidney Care

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Humana Inc. (HUM - Free Report) recently unveiled a value-based care multi-state deal with the renowned U.S. kidney care provider, Strive Health. It did so in a bid to offer relief for the health insurer’s Medicare Advantage HMO and PPO plan members suffering from chronic kidney disease or end-stage kidney disease.

The abovementioned members residing in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and northwest North Carolina can presently enjoy access to the enhanced value-based kidney care delivered by Strive. To do so, Strive makes use of predictive analytics, data-driven insights and hassle-free care delivery.

Value-based care models follow a comprehensive and patient-focused approach and thereby assures to bring about improved health conditions and lower care costs.  In this case, the interdisciplinary clinical care squad of Strive will serve the purpose of offering whole-person care to HUM’s members and take care of medication management, care management, dialysis access planning, transplant coordination and social services.

The recent collaboration may be looked at as further solidifying ties between Humana and Strive, who initially joined forces back in 2020 to provide enhanced kidney care to Humana’s Medicare Advantage and Commercial members in Indiana and Kentucky. And Strive, backed by a solid record of assuring a decline in hospital readmissions and improved home-based care for patients, seems to be the apt partner to offer relief for HUM’s members with kidney ailments.

The deal with Strive also seems to be a time-opportune move on the part of Humana in the light of a continuously growing American population that lives with kidney disease. Approximately 37 million Americans suffer from a chronic kidney disease and that number remains on an uptick.

The idea of integrating the benefit of Strive’s kidney-related care within its Medicare Advantage plans is expected to retain existing customers as well as attract new ones. This, in turn, may boost the medical customer base of Humana and fetch higher premiums from the health insurer’s Medicare Advantage business. This bodes well since premiums account for the most significant chunk of HUM’s consolidated top line.

Individual Medicare Advantage premiums improved 20.2% year over year in 2023. Management anticipates this business line to witness a minimum growth of around 100,000 in 2024.

In the past, Humana has entered into partnerships with several kidney care providers to better serve its customer base. Examples include tie-ups with the Massachusetts-based kidney care management company, Interwell Health. It has also collaborated with the comprehensive kidney health management program, REACH Kidney Care, and the Kidney Health Management solution provider, Healthmap Solutions.

Shares of Humana have lost 26.2% year to date compared with the industry’s 5.8% decline.

HUM currently has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

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Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks in the Medical space are Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. (COLL - Free Report) , Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS - Free Report) and Shockwave Medical, Inc. (SWAV - Free Report) . While Collegium Pharmaceutical currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Universal Health and Shockwave Medical carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Collegium Pharmaceutical’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters and met the same once, delivering an average surprise of 7.54%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for COLL’s 2024 earnings indicates a rise of 15% year over year. The consensus mark for revenues implies an improvement of 2.8% from the year-ago quarter's figure.

The consensus estimate for COLL’s 2024 earnings has moved 2.9% north in the past 30 days. Shares of Collegium Pharmaceutical have risen 39.2% in the past year.

Universal Health’s earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 5.87%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UHS’ 2024 earnings indicates growth of 19.9% from the year-ago reported figure. The consensus mark for revenues indicates an increase of 8.8% from the year-ago reported figure.

The consensus estimate for UHS’ 2024 earnings has moved 5.2% north in the past seven days. Shares of Universal Health have risen 43% in the past year.

Shockwave Medical’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark once, delivering an average surprise of 13.55%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SWAV’s 2024 earnings indicates an improvement of 27% year over year. The consensus mark for revenues indicates growth of 26.1% from the year-ago reported figure.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SWAV’s 2024 earnings has moved 7.7% north in the past 30 days. Shares of Shockwave Medical have rallied 28% in the past year.

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