CMS Announces Joint Commitment with Private Sector to Improve Primary Patient Care, Save Medicare Money

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Continuing its innovative efforts to support primary care, Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) has pledged to work with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on a joint initiative aimed at making high quality, low cost health care accessible to more Americans.

Under this four-year program, known as the Comprehensive Primary Care initiative, CMS, in conjunction with commercial and state health insurance plans, will offer primary care practices support for enhanced care and high-quality coordinated services. Specifically, these investments are designed to allow primary care physicians to spend more time with patients, stay open on weekends and evenings, provide additional services such as nutrition or smoking-cessation counseling, and better coordinate patient care.

“Humana is pleased to be part of this unique partnership between the public and private sectors to test changes in the delivery of primary care and to advance the concept of primary care medical homes for patients, which health care consumers are already benefitting from in a number of our markets,” said Michael B. McCallister, Humana’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Humana will implement this initiative working with practices in Colorado, Arkansas and Ohio’s Cincinnati-Dayton region beginning this fall. The markets were selected based on a diverse pool of applicants from commercial health plans, state Medicaid agencies, and self-insured businesses hoping to work alongside Medicare to support comprehensive primary care.

“We know that when we support primary care, we get healthier patients and lower costs,” said Acting CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner. “This initiative is another example of how the public and private sectors can work together to meet the critical need for these services.”

About 75 primary care practices will be selected to participate in the Comprehensive Primary Care initiative in each market. Primary care practices must agree to provide enhanced patient services, including: offering longer and more flexible hours; using electronic health records; delivering preventive care; coordinating care with patients’ other health care providers; engaging patients and caregivers in managing their own care; and providing individualized, enhanced care for patients living with multiple chronic diseases and greater needs.

About Humana

Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is a leading health care company that offers a wide range of insurance products and health and wellness services that incorporate an integrated approach to lifelong well-being. By leveraging the strengths of its core businesses, Humana believes it can better explore opportunities for existing and emerging adjacencies in health care that can further enhance wellness opportunities for the millions of people across the nation with whom the company has relationships.

More information regarding Humana is available to investors via the Investor Relations page of the company’s web site at www.humana.com, including copies of:

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• Most recent investor conference presentations
• Quarterly earnings news releases
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