Humana Will Buy One Primary Care Group — and Could Snap Up Another

  • Sep 23, 2022

    Humana Inc. will spend between $450 million and $550 million in debt and cash to gain full control of a group of primary care clinics that it launched with private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson and Stowe (WCAS), and company executives said during the firm’s recent investor day that Humana plans to double down on its existing primary care M&A strategy. Health care finance experts tell AIS Health, a division of MMIT, that insurers’ spending spree on providers is only likely to accelerate, but that Humana is in pole position to benefit from deep investments in Medicare Advantage-focused primary care. 

    Health insurers have spent billions to acquire outpatient providers since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finance experts tell AIS Health that the spending spree has two sources of capital. Carriers are spending huge cash reserves taken in during the deepest parts of the pandemic, which saw utilization plummet as premium revenues increased. In addition, Wall Street is bullish on managed care: Lenders are lining up to offer generous terms to acquisition-hungry insurers, which have enjoyed strong stock performance since the start of the pandemic era. 

    Read more
    © 2024 MMIT
  • Peter Johnson

    Peter has worked as a journalist since 2011 and has covered health care since 2020. At AIS Health, Peter covers trends in finance, business and policy that affect the health insurance and pharma sectors. For Health Plan Weekly, he covers all aspects of the U.S. health insurance sector, including employer-sponsored insurance, Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage and the Affordable Care Act individual marketplaces. In Radar on Drug Benefits, Peter covers the operations of (and conflicts between) pharmacy benefit managers and pharmaceutical manufacturers, with a particular focus on pricing dynamics and market access. Before joining AIS Health, Peter covered transportation, public safety and local government for various outlets in Seattle, his hometown and current place of residence. He graduated with a B.A. from Colby College.

The Latest
Meet Our Reporters

Meet Our Reporters

×