Humana Doubles Down on Primary Care Clinic Investments

Humana Inc. has become the latest insurer to increase its investment in building de novo primary care clinics, perhaps finding that while building is more effective than buying, opening clinics on a broad scale is a costlier proposition than first thought.

The insurer on May 16 said it had established a second joint venture with Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS) to further expand its value-based, senior-focused primary care clinics. (Hg Capital Partners and WCAS share control of MMIT, the parent of AIS Health.) The deal will provide up to $1.2 billion of additional capital for the development of approximately 100 new payer-agnostic clinics operated by Humana subsidiary CenterWell between 2023 and 2025. The expansion follows an earlier agreement that is currently deploying up to $800 million of capital to open 67 clinics by early 2023 and support ongoing operations, Humana added. WCAS will have majority ownership of the joint venture, while Humana will have a minority stake.