Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Humana: Forging Partnerships that Improve Health and Wellness


Humana is an insurance company headquartered in Kentucky. Recently, Humana has embarked into some interesting moves that changed the behavior of insurance consumers.

The company understood that it could not compete in the growing insurance market head on with just the premium payments from 7 million specialty insurance members and 11 million medical plan holders. Humana retains its principal product which include Medicare and other healthcare products that cover vision, dental and other supplemental health protection to individuals and groups.

However, Humana has recently entered into partnered innovation to connect its business strength with those of other players in the healthcare arena. The company believes that the results would not only enhance healthcare services but also open up opportunities for new businesses.

In 2011, Humana launched a joint venture with Discovery Holdings called HumanaVitality. With the project, members have access to wellness and loyalty plans that are actually driven and science based. These programs feature tools and rewards based on the patients’ needs.

But the most notable innovative initiative was the one launched in partnership with Trek. It is called B-Cycle. The concept of B-Cycle has worked in the cities of Paris and London and has since been brought to the US. The idea is bike sharing which helped address the issues of transportation and environment in many key US cities while also addressing the issues of health.

Another program which Humana launched in partnership with Ubisoft incorporates gaming and health. The partnership also allowed a new media venture that aims to simplify the way insurance and other important information are shared among different healthcare providers that would make the processing of claims more efficient for patients.

Humana continues to study opportunities where innovations can be made across several fronts at once. The goal is to tackle the healthcare challenges imposed by our time.

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