Listening is key to whole person care

We talk a lot about “human care” at the office, and that’s because our work in the healthcare industry is much more than health insurance. It’s about people.

In order to truly care for an individual, we must understand the whole person – yes, that includes their health risks and conditions, but it also includes their environment, social needs, daily stress levels and more. Human care calls us to find innovative ways to remove barriers that may be impacting their health. It means that we do more than care about our members – we listen to them.

At Humana , we put our members at the center of everything we do. We spend a lot of time getting to know our members better and understanding what resources they need to help them prioritize their health. We work to provide affordable, accessible and equitable healthcare.

It is this focus on whole person health that drives us to deliver high-quality, consumer-centric care that has resulted in better health outcomes for our members. ?

Addressing barriers to healthy living

Helping individuals address barriers that may have a negative impact on their health is important. These barriers are often things that aren’t improved just by a visit to a doctor or a prescription for medication. Health-related social needs (HRSN) – like stable housing, affordable utilities, access to healthy food, and employment – can greatly influence a person’s health and well-being.

The Humana Community Navigator? is one way we are working to help individuals address HRSNs. In 2023, nearly 282,000 referrals were made within the tool, which uses ZIP codes to connect individuals with free and low-cost resources in their community – resources like medical care, healthy foods, employment support and more.

We screened close to 1.8 million of our members across Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and commercial plans last year to determine if they have any social health needs and what we might be able to do to assist them.

Understanding members’ unique needs

As I mentioned earlier, listening to members to understand what matters to them is integral to our focus on human care. This is evident in everything from our thoughtful plan designs to offer individuals choices that meet their needs and wants to our customer service and clinical excellence. As an example, we now offer an option for our members to receive all Medicare Advantage member materials in Spanish, enabling us to provide personalized and culturally sensitive communication with our members.

I believe our industry leading ratings speak for themselves when it comes to our commitment to customer service and quality care. Humana has led the industry in the percentage of members in plans rated 4 of 5 stars or higher for the last six years. For 2024, 94% of Humana Medicare Advantage members are enrolled in plans rated 4 stars and above, and 61% of members are in plans rated 4.5 stars and above by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) on their 5-star scale.

Also, for the second year in a row, U.S. News & World Report recognized Humana as the 2024 Best Insurance Company for Medicare Advantage in three categories: Best Overall Medicare Advantage Plan Company, Best Company for Member Experience, and Best Company for Low Premium Plan.

Whole person care

As part of our focus on whole person care, we work with primary care physicians to improve health outcomes, reduce hospital times, and lower costs for our Medicare Advantage members. We recommend physicians who practice in value-based care settings for our members, as they often spend more time with their patients and focus on preventing disease and keeping patients healthy at home. Our research shows that members who use value-based care clinics get more preventive screenings and have a lower risk of being hospitalized or going to the emergency room.

This focus on whole person health isn’t just for our Medicare Advantage members. Through Humana Healthy Horizons , our Medicaid brand, we continue to demonstrate our ability to manage complex populations and create solutions that advance health equity, improve health outcomes, and lead to a better quality of life for our most vulnerable populations.

With more than 6 million Medicare Advantage members and nearly 1.2 million Medicaid members to serve, Humana employees are working diligently every day to put our members’ health first by removing barriers to health and ensuring our members have access to the resources and benefits that will help them prioritize their health.

To learn more about the impact the Humana team is having at the individual level, read the recently published 2023 Humana Impact Report .