Humana plans CenterWell expansion of 30-35 senior primary care clinics

Photo courtesy CenterWell Senior Primary Care

Humana is continuing to expand its CenterWell Senior Primary Care clinics.

In 2023, CenterWell will open in new markets, including Indiana, Mississippi and Virginia, and expand clinics in seven other states where centers already exists.

CenterWell intends to open 30 to 35 new senior-focused primary centers in 2023 through a joint venture with private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson and Stowe, Humana said.

Initial plans call for centers in:

• the new markets of Tidewater and Richmond, Virginia; Biloxi, Gulfport and Jackson, Mississippi.
• cities in Indiana yet to be determined.
• Lake Charles and Lafayette, Louisiana.
• Dallas, Texas.
• Las Vegas, Nevada.
• Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina.
• Myrtle Beach and Columbia, South Carolina.
• Lexington, Kentucky.
• Nashville, Tennessee.

Exact locations and opening dates will be determined later, but CenterWell’s goal is to open all of the centers by the end of 2023.

WHY THIS MATTERS

The expansion of primary care services by nontraditional providers has been ongoing. Pharmacy companies, insurers and others are competing against hospitals and physician practices for primary care and the growing senior market.

Walmart recently announced it was planning the expansion of 16 clinics in Florida in 2023. Services will vary by location, but will typically include primary care, labs, X-ray and EKG, behavioral health, dental and community health services.

Humana boasts that its staff of board-certified physicians and integrated care teams have been specially trained to treat the senior population and spend more time with their patients – up to 40 minutes, compared to 10 to 15 minutes in many practices.

The primary care centers deliver care to approximately 240,000 patients from many different Medicare Advantage health plans, as well as some patients who have original Medicare. Humana is a big player in the MA market and recently announced plans for veterans.

THE LARGER TREND

Humana’s Primary Care Organization includes CenterWell and Conviva, providers of senior-focused primary care. Between the two brands, the PCO operates more than 220 centers across 11 states and expects to continue to grow by 30-50 centers per year through 2025, according to Humana.

The centers currently operate in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.

ON THE RECORD

“The value-based care model at CenterWell Senior Primary Care benefits both patients and physicians,” said Dr. Vivek Garg, chief medical officer for the Primary Care Organization. “It maximizes the trust and influence of the doctor-patient relationship by empowering physicians to provide proactive, longitudinal care. This approach not only drives improvements in health outcomes and quality of care – with reduced emergency room visits and hospital admits – but it also results in higher patient satisfaction as well as greater job satisfaction for physicians.”

Reneé Buckingham, president of Humana’s Primary Care Organization, said, “Many of these new centers bring much-needed primary care to previously underserved areas.”

Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: [email protected]