Humana Will Soon Close the Book on Commercial Insurance Division

Feb 24
Feb 24, 2023

Humana Inc. will exit the commercial insurance business and focus exclusively on government books of business, the company said on Feb. 23. Industry analysts say it was a wise strategic move, and experts tell AIS Health, a division of MMIT, that the decision will have a marginal impact on Humana’s profits.

Humana said that “following a strategic review,” it has decided to shelve its Employer Group Commercial Medical Products (FEHB) business — which includes all fully insured, self-funded and Federal Employee Health Benefit plans — over the next 18 to 24 months. A press release said the division “was no longer positioned to sustainably meet the needs of commercial members over the long term or support the company’s long-term strategic plans.” The streamlining move comes on the heels of Humana’s divestment of its hospice business during 2022; the firm also executed a “value creation plan” that executives say delivered $1 billion in additional earnings.
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Leslie Small

Leslie has been working in journalism since 2009 and reporting on the health care industry since 2014. She has covered the many ups and downs of the Affordable Care Act exchanges, the failed health insurer mega-mergers, and hundreds of other storylines spanning subjects such as Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage, employer-sponsored insurance, and prescription drug coverage. As the managing editor of Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits, she writes and edits for both publications while overseeing a small team of reporters who also focus on the managed care sector. Before joining AIS Health, she was a senior editor for the e-newsletter Fierce Health Payer, and she started her career as a copy editor at multiple local newspapers. She graduated with a dual degree in journalism and political science from Penn State University.

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.