Humana To Provide Florida's Retirees With Medicare Plans

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) has been chosen as one of the health plans to provide Florida’s Medicare retirees with Medicare coverage effective Jan 1, 2020. The company is by far the region’s biggest Medicare Advantage provider per membership strength.

During the state’s 2020 Medicare enrollment phase, spanning from Oct 14 to Nov 1, 2019, the State of Florida Medicare-eligible retirees and their eligible dependents can choose their next year’s Medicare plan. They can even select a new Humana Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MAPD) Employer HMO program, which consists of $0 copay for primary care physician visits and $10 copay for specialist ones, full coverage for various preventive services and no plan deductible, emergency coverage across the globe, etc.

The company has been providing Medicare plans in Florida over the past 30 years and this strategic move is in line with its commitment to improve the health outcomes of the Floridians. The action has led and facilitated its Bold Goal population health plan in Florida since 2015. In an effort to enhance the health of the Floridians by 20% by next year and beyond, the company has been collaborating with Florida health care providers, nonprofit organizations, government agencies and employers.

Humana currently caters to more than 2.2 million Floridians via an array of health plans and services like Medicare Advantage, Medicare prescription drug plans, Medicaid, commercial employer-sponsored plans, commercial dental and vision coverage, etc.

Additionally, it recently announced the launch of the Humana Honor Medicare Advantage plans for 2020, designed to complement the Veterans Affairs (VA) program. Comprising an array of 17 healthcare plans, Humana Honor is accessible across 28 states.

The company also declared the upgrade of health plan choices for its Medicare beneficiaries in New Jersey by adding numerous counties to its network. Moreover, it is launching a health maintenance organization (HMO) plan in New Jersey to aid members.

Humana’s Medicare business has been performing strongly over the last many quarters. This is evident from growth in Medicare membership by 54% from 2013 to 2018. And we expect this trend to continue on the back of the company’s strategic initiatives, which are likely to drive its overall growth.

Shares of this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company have lost 19.6% in a year's time, narrower than its industry's decline of 20.3%.

Other Stocks to Consider

Investors interested in the medical sector might also consider some other top-ranked stocks like Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) , HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) and Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC) . You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Molina offers Medicaid-related solutions to meet the healthcare needs of low-income families and individuals. In the trailing four quarters, the company’s average beat was 66.93%. The stock sports a Zacks Rank #1.

HCA provides health care services. In the last four quarters, the company delivered average beat of 11.17%. It holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Tenet operates as a diversified healthcare services company and carries a Zacks Rank of 1. The company came up with average four-quarter positive surprise of an astronomical 95.85%.

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