Humana
Encyclopedia
Humana Inc. founded in 1961 in Louisville, Kentucky
, is a Fortune 100 company that markets and administers health insurance. With a customer base
of over 11.5 million in the United States
, the company is the largest (by revenues) Fortune 100 company headquartered in the Commonwealth of Kentucky
, and has a market cap of over US $
8 billion, $25.2 billion in revenue, and over 26,000 employees nationwide. Humana markets its health insurance services in all 50 U.S. states, D.C.
, and Puerto Rico
, and has international business
interests in Western Europe
.
company in 1961. Then known as Extendicare, the company became the largest nursing home company in the United States. Extendicare later divested the nursing home chain and moved into purchasing hospitals in 1972, becoming the world's largest hospital company in the 1980s.
The corporate name was changed to Humana Inc. in 1974. Humana experienced tremendous growth in the years that followed, both organically and through the takeover of American Medicorp Inc. in 1978, which doubled the company's size. During the mid-1970s, the company used a fast-track construction
process to complete and open one hospital a month. This accelerated construction schedule, which compressed time by overlapping processes, allowed Humana to develop hospital projects faster than the industry norm. During this construction boom, Humana developed the double corridor model for hospital construction. This highly efficient design minimized the distance between patients and nurses by placing nursing support services in the interior of the building with patient rooms surrounding the perimeter.
Humana brought the pioneering artificial heart
research of Dr. Robert Jarvik and Dr. William DeVries
, the inventor and surgeon of the first artificial heart implant performed at the University of Utah
in 1982, to create the Humana Heart Institute, in Louisville in 1985.
The 1990s marked Humana's transition into a consumer health benefits company. Humana spun off its hospital operations from the health insurance operations in 1993, creating Galen Health Care, which then merged with Columbia/HCA
.
evolved in the 1980s, Humana developed and began marketing health insurance
products.
United Healthcare
attempted to acquire Humana in 1998. United's effort failed when it reported an almost billion-dollar quarterly loss.
In 2001, Humana partnered with Navigy, Inc., a subsidiary of Blue Cross and Blue Shield
of Florida, Inc., to launch Availity.
In 2005, Humana entered into a business partnership
with Virgin Group
, offering financial incentives to members for healthy behavior, such as regular exercise.
The Business Health Care Group of Southeast Wisconsin (BHCGSW) chose Humana as its administrative partner to help reduce health care costs. Today, the BHCGSW represents more than 200 member companies, including large and small employers representing more than 150,000 health care consumers in Southeastern Wisconsin.
In 2006, Humana launched an education campaign to market Medicare Advantage (MA) and Prescription Drug Plans
(PDP) nationwide to Medicare eligible consumers, following the passage of the Medicare modernization act.
Humana also launched RightSource, a national mail-order retail pharmacy
business in 2006.
Humana screened the 1942 classic Casablanca
in select movie theater
s nationwide as part of a campaign to preview its Medicare Advantage consumer services in 2007, marking the first time in more than 60 years that the film was seen nationally in movie theaters.
In its March 2008 issue, Fortune Magazine named Humana one of the Top 5 Most Admired Healthcare Companies in the United States.
In May 2011, Humana announced that they would be using mobileStorm
to allow transmission of protected health information to patients. The service is the first HIPAA-compliant messaging platform.
:
, a 34 year company veteran, is president and chief executive officer
of Humana. McCallister began his career in 1974 as an analyst in the company's finance department. In 2006, he was rated as one of the most successful CEOs in American business at creating shareholder value
by Forbes Magazine
. McCallister is a member of the Business Roundtable
.
David Jones, Jr. serves as chairman of the board
of directors. Jones is the son of company founder, David Jones, Sr.
In an interview published by The Courier-Journal
, the day following his retirement as chairman of the board of directors, David Jones, Sr. indicated he had vehemently opposed United Healthcare's effort to take over Humana in 1998, but was out voted by other members of the board of directors.
The year the leader joined the company is listed in brackets.
The Humana Building
in Louisville, Kentucky
is a well-known example of postmodern architecture
designed by Michael Graves
and completed in 1985. Humana sponsored an architectural competition
to determine the design of its headquarters building. Scale model
s of the participants (including the submissions of Helmut Jahn
, I. M. Pei
, Michael Graves and others) are contained in a vestibule located directly above the Main Street entrance.
Humana also operates a state-of-the-art mail-order facility, RightSourceRx. RightSourceRx operates in Phoenix, Arizona
and West Chester, Ohio
. The Humana call center is located in Cincinnati, Ohio
and other areas.
and Champions Tour
. PGA Tour player David Toms
and LPGA
player Nancy Scranton
are both ambassadors for Humana.
The Humana Distaff Handicap
is a Grade 1 race for thoroughbred
fillies and mares
, four-years-old and up. The race is run each spring on Kentucky Derby
day at Churchill Downs
and set at a distance of 7 furlongs for a purse of $250,000.
Humana is also one of the Official Sponsors of Dollywood
and is the presenting sponsor of the Grand Ole Opry
.
Military Health System
TRICARE
South Region. In 2009, HMHS' Managed Care Support Contract was awarded to United Military and Veterans Services, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. HMHS protested that decision. The protest was upheld in late 2009 by the Government Accountability Office
.
over a story line in the television medical drama
St. Elsewhere
whereas the hospital was to be sold to a for-profit
medical corporation and renamed "Ecumena", with subsequent changes to the hospital, both positive and negative, emanating from that change. Humana was successful at forcing NBC into showing a disclaimer at the beginning of the September 30 episode saying that the drama had no connection whatsoever with Humana.
On May 30, 1996, Linda Peeno
, who was contracted to work for Humana for nine months, testified before Congress
as to the downside of managed care
.
Video of Linda Peeno's testimony appeared in Michael Moore
's 2007 documentary Sicko
. On June 28, 2007, in a statement about the movie, Humana declared that Peeno was never a Humana "associate" (permanent, full-time employee), but rather a "part-time contractor". Humana also disputed the portions of Congressional testimony that were shown by saying that because the patient's specific healthcare plan didn't cover heart transplants, the denial of coverage was valid.
Humana was also featured in Season One of Moore's The Awful Truth
, shown refusing to give a pancreatic failure sufferer authorization for a transplant due to a contradictory policy that stated that all of this man's diabetes related expenses were covered by his plan (his pancreas was failing due to his diabetes) but in another section, it said that it wouldn't cover organ transplants. Moore conducted a fake funeral on the front steps of Humana for the man who was sure to die without the transplant. Three days later, Humana changed their policy and authorized the man's treatment. This scene was the inspiration for Sicko.
On September 21, 2009 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
opened an investigation into mass mailings sent by Humana to elderly Medicare recipients. The mail was made to appear to contain official information about Medicare Advantage and prescription drug benefit information, but instead alleged that core Medicare benefits could be cut by the Obama administration's healthcare reform, a claim refuted by John Rother, AARP
's executive vice president. Douglas Elmendorf, the head of the Congressional Budget Office
, later supported the claim that Medicare benefits would be cut. However, his comments were in reference to just one of several bills being drafted in Congress, and CBO estimates of another healthcare reform bill found that changes to premiums would vary. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
instructed Humana to cease all such mailings to Medicare plan members pending an investigation. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in a letter to the insurance industry, threatened that bad actors may be excluded from new health insurance markets that will open in 2014. However, in a letter to Kathleen Sebelius, Senate Republicans pointed out that a 1997 directive from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services explicitly allowed HMOs to tell members about legislation and urge them to express opinions.
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, is a Fortune 100 company that markets and administers health insurance. With a customer base
Customer base
The customer base is the group of customers and/or consumers that a business serves. In the most situations, a large part of this group is made up of repeat customers with a high ratio of purchase over time. These customers are the main source of consumer spending...
of over 11.5 million in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the company is the largest (by revenues) Fortune 100 company headquartered in the Commonwealth of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, and has a market cap of over US $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
8 billion, $25.2 billion in revenue, and over 26,000 employees nationwide. Humana markets its health insurance services in all 50 U.S. states, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, and has international business
International Business
International business is a term used to collectively describe all commercial transactions that take place between two or more regions, countries and nations beyond their political boundary...
interests in Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
.
1961-1993: Nursing homes and hospitals
The company was founded by David A. Jones, Sr. and Wendell Cherry as a nursing homeNursing home
A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
company in 1961. Then known as Extendicare, the company became the largest nursing home company in the United States. Extendicare later divested the nursing home chain and moved into purchasing hospitals in 1972, becoming the world's largest hospital company in the 1980s.
The corporate name was changed to Humana Inc. in 1974. Humana experienced tremendous growth in the years that followed, both organically and through the takeover of American Medicorp Inc. in 1978, which doubled the company's size. During the mid-1970s, the company used a fast-track construction
Fast-track construction
Fast-track is a scheduling technique in construction project management with always associate with design-build, construction-manager-adviser, construction-manager-constructor. Fast-track construction reduce the project time by developing project in design phase and construction phase at the same...
process to complete and open one hospital a month. This accelerated construction schedule, which compressed time by overlapping processes, allowed Humana to develop hospital projects faster than the industry norm. During this construction boom, Humana developed the double corridor model for hospital construction. This highly efficient design minimized the distance between patients and nurses by placing nursing support services in the interior of the building with patient rooms surrounding the perimeter.
Humana brought the pioneering artificial heart
Artificial heart
An artificial heart is a mechanical device that replaces the heart. Artificial hearts are typically used in order to bridge the time to heart transplantation, or to permanently replace the heart in case transplantation is impossible...
research of Dr. Robert Jarvik and Dr. William DeVries
William DeVries
-References:...
, the inventor and surgeon of the first artificial heart implant performed at the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
in 1982, to create the Humana Heart Institute, in Louisville in 1985.
The 1990s marked Humana's transition into a consumer health benefits company. Humana spun off its hospital operations from the health insurance operations in 1993, creating Galen Health Care, which then merged with Columbia/HCA
Hospital Corporation of America
Hospital Corporation of America is the largest private operator of health care facilities in the world, It is based in Nashville, Tennessee and is widely considered to be the single largest factor in making that city a hotspot for healthcare enterprise.-History:The founders of HCA include Jack C....
.
1984-present: Health insurance
As the American health care systemHealth care in the United States
Health care in the United States is provided by many separate legal entities. Health care facilities are largely owned and operated by the private sector...
evolved in the 1980s, Humana developed and began marketing health insurance
Health insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
products.
United Healthcare
UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is a diversified health and "well-being" company. Headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, UnitedHealth Group offers a spectrum of products and services through two operating businesses: United Healthcare and Optum. Through its family of subsidiaries and divisions,...
attempted to acquire Humana in 1998. United's effort failed when it reported an almost billion-dollar quarterly loss.
In 2001, Humana partnered with Navigy, Inc., a subsidiary of Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a federation of 39 separate health insurance organizations and companies in the United States. Combined, they directly or indirectly provide health insurance to over 100 million Americans. The history of Blue Cross dates back to 1929, while the history of...
of Florida, Inc., to launch Availity.
In 2005, Humana entered into a business partnership
Partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...
with Virgin Group
Virgin Group
Virgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by business tycoon Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding...
, offering financial incentives to members for healthy behavior, such as regular exercise.
The Business Health Care Group of Southeast Wisconsin (BHCGSW) chose Humana as its administrative partner to help reduce health care costs. Today, the BHCGSW represents more than 200 member companies, including large and small employers representing more than 150,000 health care consumers in Southeastern Wisconsin.
In 2006, Humana launched an education campaign to market Medicare Advantage (MA) and Prescription Drug Plans
Medicare Part D
Medicare Part D is a federal program to subsidize the costs of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries in the United States. It was enacted as part of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 and went into effect on January 1, 2006.- Eligibility and...
(PDP) nationwide to Medicare eligible consumers, following the passage of the Medicare modernization act.
Humana also launched RightSource, a national mail-order retail pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
business in 2006.
Humana screened the 1942 classic Casablanca
Casablanca (film)
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
in select movie theater
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
s nationwide as part of a campaign to preview its Medicare Advantage consumer services in 2007, marking the first time in more than 60 years that the film was seen nationally in movie theaters.
In its March 2008 issue, Fortune Magazine named Humana one of the Top 5 Most Admired Healthcare Companies in the United States.
In May 2011, Humana announced that they would be using mobileStorm
MobileStorm
mobileStorm is an email and text-message marketing firm started by Jared Reitzin and based in Los Angeles, California. To date, the company has sent more than 3 billion messages and launched more than half a million marketing campaigns...
to allow transmission of protected health information to patients. The service is the first HIPAA-compliant messaging platform.
Acquisitions
This list represents some of the major acquisitions completed by Humana since 1990 in the U.S.United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
:
| Year | Acquired company | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Michael Reese Michael Reese Hospital Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center was an American hospital founded in 1881. In its heyday, it was a major research and teaching hospital and one of the oldest and largest hospitals in Chicago, Illinois. It was located on the near south side of Chicago, next to Lake Shore Drive Michael... Health Plan |
Illinois |
| 1994 | Group Health Association | Washington, DC |
| 1995 | The Dental Concern | Illinois |
| 1995 | Carrington | Illinois |
| 1996 | Employers Health Insurance (EHI) | Wisconsin |
| 1997 | Physicians Corp of America (PCA) | Texas |
| 1997 | ChoiceCare | Ohio |
| 2000 | Memorial Sisters of Charity | Texas |
| 2003 | Oschner Health Plan | Louisiana |
| 2005 | CarePlus Health | Florida |
| 2005 | Corphealth Behavioral Healthcare | Texas |
| 2006 | CHA Health | Kentucky |
| 2007 | Compbenefits | Georgia |
| 2007 | KMG | Minnesota |
| 2008 | OSF Healthplans | Illinois |
| 2008 | Metcare | Florida |
| 2008 | Cariten | Tennessee |
Leadership
Michael B. McCallisterMichael McCallister
Michael B. McCallister is the chairman of the board, president, and chief executive officer of Humana, a health insurance company. He earned his bachelor's degree from Louisiana Tech University in 1974. He joined Humana in 1974 as a finance specialist. He earned his MBA from Pepperdine University...
, a 34 year company veteran, is president and chief executive officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Humana. McCallister began his career in 1974 as an analyst in the company's finance department. In 2006, he was rated as one of the most successful CEOs in American business at creating shareholder value
Shareholder value
Shareholder value is a business term, sometimes phrased as shareholder value maximization or as the shareholder value model, which implies that the ultimate measure of a company's success is the extent to which it enriches shareholders...
by Forbes Magazine
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
. McCallister is a member of the Business Roundtable
Business Roundtable
The Business Roundtable is a politically conservative group of chief executive officers of major U.S. corporations formed to promote pro-business public policy.-History:...
.
David Jones, Jr. serves as chairman of the board
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of directors. Jones is the son of company founder, David Jones, Sr.
In an interview published by The Courier-Journal
The Courier-Journal
The Courier-Journal, locally called "The C-J", is the main newspaper for the city of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. According to the 1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook, the paper is the 48th largest daily paper in the United States and the single largest in Kentucky.- Origins :The...
, the day following his retirement as chairman of the board of directors, David Jones, Sr. indicated he had vehemently opposed United Healthcare's effort to take over Humana in 1998, but was out voted by other members of the board of directors.
The year the leader joined the company is listed in brackets.
- Michael B. McCallister, President and Chief Executive Officer [1974]
- James (Jim) E. Murray, Senior Vice PresidentVice presidentA vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
and Chief operating officerChief operating officerA Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
[1989] - James (Jim) H. Bloem, Senior Vice President, Chief financial officerChief financial officerThe chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management...
and Treasurer [2001] - Paul B. Kusserow, Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy OfficerChief strategy officerA Chief Strategy Officer , or chief strategist, is an executive who is responsible for assisting the chief executive officer with creating, communicating, executing, and sustaining strategic initiatives within a company or agency....
[2009] - Christopher Todoroff, Senior Vice President General CounselGeneral CounselA general counsel is the chief lawyer of a legal department, usually in a corporation or government department. The term is most used in the United States...
[2008] - Raja Rajamannar, Senior Vice President, Chief Innovation & Marketing Officer [2009]
- Bruce J. Goodman, Senior Vice President and Chief Service and Information Officer [1999]
- Thomas (Tom) J. Liston, Senior Vice President, Senior Products [1994]
- Bonita (Bonnie) C. Hathcock, Senior Vice President and Chief Human resourcesHuman resourcesHuman resources is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations...
Officer [1999] - Heidi Margulis, Senior Vice President of Government Relations [1985]
- Thomas (Tom) Noland, Senior Vice President of Corporate communicationsCorporate communicationsCorporate communication is the message issued by a corporate organization, body, or institute to its publics. "Publics" can be both internal Corporate communication is the message issued by a corporate organization, body, or institute to its publics. "Publics" can be both internal Corporate...
[1984] - Bruce Perkins, Senior Vice President [1982]
Locations
Humana Building
The Humana Building, also known as the Humana Tower, is a skyscraper in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, located at 500 West Main Street. The 27-story structure is headquarters of the Humana Corporation and known for its postmodern architecture. It was designed by Michael Graves...
in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
is a well-known example of postmodern architecture
Postmodern architecture
Postmodern architecture began as an international style the first examples of which are generally cited as being from the 1950s, but did not become a movement until the late 1970s and continues to influence present-day architecture...
designed by Michael Graves
Michael Graves
Michael Graves is an American architect. Identified as one of The New York Five, Graves has become a household name with his designs for domestic products sold at Target stores in the United States....
and completed in 1985. Humana sponsored an architectural competition
Architectural design competition
An architectural design competition is a special type of competition in which an organization or government body that plans to build a new building asks for architects to submit a proposed design for a building. The winning design is usually chosen by an independent panel of design professionals...
to determine the design of its headquarters building. Scale model
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
s of the participants (including the submissions of Helmut Jahn
Helmut Jahn
Helmut Jahn is a German-American architect, well known for designs such as the US$800 million Sony Center on the Potsdamer Platz, Berlin, the Messeturm in Frankfurt and the One Liberty Place, formerly the tallest building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Suvarnabhumi Airport, an international...
, I. M. Pei
I. M. Pei
Ieoh Ming Pei , commonly known as I. M. Pei, is a Chinese American architect, often called a master of modern architecture. Born in Canton, China and raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Pei drew inspiration at an early age from the gardens at Suzhou...
, Michael Graves and others) are contained in a vestibule located directly above the Main Street entrance.
Humana also operates a state-of-the-art mail-order facility, RightSourceRx. RightSourceRx operates in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
and West Chester, Ohio
West Chester Township, Butler County, Ohio
West Chester Township, formerly known as Union Township, is a township located in the southeast corner of Butler County in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio, one of thirteen townships in the county. It is situated between Sharonville and Monroe, about 18 miles north of Cincinnati, and...
. The Humana call center is located in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
and other areas.
Sponsorship
Humana is the official health benefits provider of the PGA TourPGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
and Champions Tour
Champions Tour
The Champions Tour, a golf tour run by the PGA Tour, hosts a series of events annually in the United States and the United Kingdom for golfers 50 years of age and older. Many of the PGA Tour's most successful golfers have gone on to play on the Champions Tour.The Senior PGA Championship, founded in...
. PGA Tour player David Toms
David Toms
David Wayne Toms is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He has won a total of thirteen events on the PGA Tour including the 2001 PGA Championship...
and LPGA
LPGA
The LPGA, in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, whose headquarters is in Daytona Beach, Florida, is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from...
player Nancy Scranton
Nancy Scranton
Nancy Scranton is an American professional golfer.Scranton was born in Centralia, Illinois. She attended Florida State University and the University of Kentucky. Her rookie season on the LPGA Tour was 1985. She has three tournament victories on the tour, including one major championship, the 1991...
are both ambassadors for Humana.
The Humana Distaff Handicap
Humana Distaff Handicap
The Humana Distaff Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually on the first Saturday in May as part of Derby Day at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky...
is a Grade 1 race for thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
fillies and mares
Mare (horse)
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a...
, four-years-old and up. The race is run each spring on Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
day at Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
and set at a distance of 7 furlongs for a purse of $250,000.
Humana is also one of the Official Sponsors of Dollywood
Dollywood
Dollywood is a theme park owned by entertainer Dolly Parton and the Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation. It is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Dollywood has 3,000 people on its payroll, making it the largest employer in that community....
and is the presenting sponsor of the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
.
Humana Military Healthcare Services
Humana Military Healthcare Services (HMHS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Humana. Since 2004, HMHS has acted as the Managed Care Support Contractor for the United States Department of DefenseUnited States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
Military Health System
Military Health System
The Military Health System is the enterprise within the United States Department of Defense responsible for providing health care to active duty and retired U.S. Military personnel and their dependents...
TRICARE
TRICARE
TRICARE, formerly known as the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services , is a health care program of the United States Department of Defense Military Health System. TRICARE provides civilian health benefits for military personnel, military retirees, and their dependents,...
South Region. In 2009, HMHS' Managed Care Support Contract was awarded to United Military and Veterans Services, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. HMHS protested that decision. The protest was upheld in late 2009 by the Government Accountability Office
Government Accountability Office
The Government Accountability Office is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress. It is located in the legislative branch of the United States government.-History:...
.
Controversy
In 1987, Humana sued NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
over a story line in the television medical drama
Medical drama
A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the...
St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood...
whereas the hospital was to be sold to a for-profit
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
medical corporation and renamed "Ecumena", with subsequent changes to the hospital, both positive and negative, emanating from that change. Humana was successful at forcing NBC into showing a disclaimer at the beginning of the September 30 episode saying that the drama had no connection whatsoever with Humana.
On May 30, 1996, Linda Peeno
Linda Peeno
Linda Peeno is a physician, ethicist and lecturer from Louisville, Kentucky known for being a whistleblower for the United States managed healthcare industry....
, who was contracted to work for Humana for nine months, testified before Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
as to the downside of managed care
Managed care
...intended to reduce unnecessary health care costs through a variety of mechanisms, including: economic incentives for physicians and patients to select less costly forms of care; programs for reviewing the medical necessity of specific services; increased beneficiary cost sharing; controls on...
.
Video of Linda Peeno's testimony appeared in Michael Moore
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...
's 2007 documentary Sicko
Sicko
Sicko is a 2007 documentary film by American filmmaker Michael Moore. The film investigates health care in the United States, focusing on its health insurance and the pharmaceutical industry. The movie compares the for-profit, non-universal U.S...
. On June 28, 2007, in a statement about the movie, Humana declared that Peeno was never a Humana "associate" (permanent, full-time employee), but rather a "part-time contractor". Humana also disputed the portions of Congressional testimony that were shown by saying that because the patient's specific healthcare plan didn't cover heart transplants, the denial of coverage was valid.
Humana was also featured in Season One of Moore's The Awful Truth
The Awful Truth (TV series)
The Awful Truth was a satirical television show that was directed, written, and hosted by filmmaker Michael Moore, and funded by the British broadcaster Channel 4.-Format:...
, shown refusing to give a pancreatic failure sufferer authorization for a transplant due to a contradictory policy that stated that all of this man's diabetes related expenses were covered by his plan (his pancreas was failing due to his diabetes) but in another section, it said that it wouldn't cover organ transplants. Moore conducted a fake funeral on the front steps of Humana for the man who was sure to die without the transplant. Three days later, Humana changed their policy and authorized the man's treatment. This scene was the inspiration for Sicko.
On September 21, 2009 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
United States Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services is a Cabinet department of the United States government with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America"...
opened an investigation into mass mailings sent by Humana to elderly Medicare recipients. The mail was made to appear to contain official information about Medicare Advantage and prescription drug benefit information, but instead alleged that core Medicare benefits could be cut by the Obama administration's healthcare reform, a claim refuted by John Rother, AARP
AARP
AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is the United States-based non-governmental organization and interest group, founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, PhD, a retired educator from California, and based in Washington, D.C. According to its mission statement, it is "a...
's executive vice president. Douglas Elmendorf, the head of the Congressional Budget Office
Congressional Budget Office
The Congressional Budget Office is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides economic data to Congress....
, later supported the claim that Medicare benefits would be cut. However, his comments were in reference to just one of several bills being drafted in Congress, and CBO estimates of another healthcare reform bill found that changes to premiums would vary. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services , previously known as the Health Care Financing Administration , is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer...
instructed Humana to cease all such mailings to Medicare plan members pending an investigation. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in a letter to the insurance industry, threatened that bad actors may be excluded from new health insurance markets that will open in 2014. However, in a letter to Kathleen Sebelius, Senate Republicans pointed out that a 1997 directive from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services explicitly allowed HMOs to tell members about legislation and urge them to express opinions.