Medical Design and Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Supplies and Components Index
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • MedTech Resources
    • Medtech Events in 2025
    • The 2024 Medtech Big 100
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Educational Assets
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
    • Views
    • Video
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Women in Medtech
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Insurer Humana Pushes Deeper Into Delivery Of Healthcare

December 20, 2017 By Tom Murphy, AP Health Writer

Humana will buy part of Kindred Healthcare’s home health business, the latest example of a health insurer growing more involved in the delivery of care on top of handling the bills for it.

The insurer said Tuesday it will pay about $800 million in cash for a 40-percent stake in the business, which includes hospice care and serves about 130,000 patients daily. The remaining stake will be purchased by the private equity firms TPG Capital and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe.

Those firms also will acquire the rest of Louisville, Kentucky-based Kindred Healthcare Inc., which runs long-term acute care and inpatient rehabilitation hospitals.

Humana, which already operates a home health business, said the deal will help it keep costs down, improve health and manage chronic conditions. CEO Bruce Broussard said in a prepared statement that care delivered at home is a “vital element” in improving the health of older people living with chronic conditions, which can include diabetes or heart disease.

This Aug. 8, 2011, file photo, shows the entrance to the Humana building, in Louisville, Ky. Humana announced Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017, it will buy part of Kindred Healthcare’s home health business, the latest example of a health insurer growing more involved in the delivery of health care in addition to handling the bills for it. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke, File)

Humana Inc., also based in Louisville, is one of the nation’s biggest providers of Medicare Advantage plans, which are privately run versions of the federal Medicare program for people who are over 65 or disabled. It also provides Medicare prescription drug coverage and offers commercial insurance.

Health insurers and other entities have been pushing deeper into managing or providing patient care in order to cut costs and improve quality. The basic idea is to help people stick with treatment plans, stay on medication and live healthy lifestyles in order to ward off expensive care like hospital stays.

The trend is drawing concern from some patient advocates who worry that it could lead to fewer doctor choices or other treatment restrictions.

However, economist Linda Blumberg noted that these deals can give insurers more control over provider payment rates, which might help restrain the cost of coverage.

“There is potential to control costs in a way you can’t do when you’re just one among others trying to negotiate rates with providers,” said Blumberg, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center.

Earlier this month, CVS Health said it would pay about $69 billion to buy the health insurer Aetna in a deal that will expand the role of its drugstores in managing patient care.

Tuesday’s announcement also comes several days after another insurer, UnitedHealth Group Inc., said it would spend nearly $5 billion deal to buy hundreds of clinics from DaVita Inc. UnitedHealth’s Optum segment runs more than 1,100 primary, urgent and surgery care centers. A company spokesman said UnitedHealth’s Optum business provides care for over 13 million people through more than 30,000 physicians.

Regulators and Kindred shareholders still need to approve Humana’s acquisition, which the companies expect to close next summer. The deal also gives Humana the right to acquire the rest of Kindred’s home health business in a few years.

Related Articles Read More >

This is a screenshot of the remote robotic surgery technical guidelines appearing in the World Journal of Surgery.
New technical guidelines set to advance remote robotic surgery
An illustration of Embolization Inc.'s Nitinol Enhanced Device (NED).
This nitinol vascular embolization device has another shape memory material up its sleeve
A photo of Johnson & Johnson MedTech's Polyphonic-connected Monarch robotics-assisted bronchoscopy system in the lab.
J&J MedTech’s global head of digital wants to fund your AI project
July 2025 edition: The Surgical Robotics issue, featuring Capstan Medical, J&J and Zimmer Biomet
“mdo
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest medical device business news, application and technology trends.

DeviceTalks Weekly

See More >

MDO Digital Edition

Digital Edition

Subscribe to Medical Design & Outsourcing. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading medical design engineering magazine today.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
DeviceTalks

DeviceTalks is a conversation among medical technology leaders. It's events, podcasts, webinars and one-on-one exchanges of ideas & insights.

DeviceTalks

New MedTech Resource

Medical Tubing

MassDevice

Mass Device

The Medical Device Business Journal. MassDevice is the leading medical device news business journal telling the stories of the devices that save lives.

Visit Website
MDO ad
Medical Design and Outsourcing
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • MedTech100 Index
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World
  • R&D World
  • About Us/Contact
  • Advertise With Us
  • Subscribe to Print Magazine
  • Subscribe to our E-Newsletter
  • Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
  • Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media LLC. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Supplies and Components Index
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • MedTech Resources
    • Medtech Events in 2025
    • The 2024 Medtech Big 100
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Educational Assets
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
    • Views
    • Video
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Women in Medtech
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe