Humana To Acquire Home Health Provider Kindred At Home For $8.1 Billion

Humana is acquiring home health and hospice provider Kindred at Home (KAH) from its equity firm partners, TPG Capital and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS), the health insurer announced Tuesday (April 27) in a press release.

Humana has signed a deal to buy out the 60 percent of KAH it does not already own for $8.1 billion, the release stated. The move will help Humana implement and expand clinical innovation and service models that embrace home-based medical solutions.

In addition to developing these models, Humana has worked on creating a platform that analyzes information and shares it between the insurer and KAH, helping to create appropriate, personalized care plans for patients. The platform also helps patients connect with urgent care and in-home physicians in times of emergency or when a primary care physician cannot be reached, according to the release.

“We continue to invest in assets that allow Humana to better manage the holistic needs of our members and patients by expanding care in the home, including primary care, telehealth and emergency room care, while also addressing social determinants of health,” said Humana President and CEO Bruce D. Broussard in the release. “Fully integrating Kindred at Home will enable us to more closely align incentives to focus on improving patient outcomes and on reducing the total cost of care.”

Home healthcare is on the rise amid the pandemic, PYMNTS reported. Seeing healthcare providers at home is not only more convenient, it protects patients from catching contagious diseases like COVID-19 — and it actually improves clinical outcomes.

The use of KAH’s services has been found to result in “reduced hospitalizations, readmissions and [emergency room (ER)] utilization even as their penetration of Humana episodes increased from 8 percent to 19 percent in markets with geographic overlap,” said Susan Diamond, segment president of Humana’s Home Business, in the release.

Humana will add KAH’s home health division to its Home Solutions business and will rebrand it as CenterWell Home Health, according to the release. Humana is also acquiring KAH’s hospice and personal care services but plans to maintain a minority interest in this unit.

KAH employs 43,000 caregivers, treating more than 550,000 patients a year, the release stated. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.