Healthcare · Profile from Healthcare Research Companion
Humana Inc.
The Louisville company that has reinvented itself three times: from nursing homes (1961) to the largest US hospital chain (1970s–80s) to a health insurer (1990s), and then to the purest large-cap bet on Medicare Advantage in America. By the 2020s roughly 80–85% of its revenue came from the federal government through Medicare, it owned the CenterWell brand of senior primary care, home health and pharmacy, and its fortunes rose and fell with CMS payment rates, star ratings and how often seniors used care.
At a glance
- Founded
- 1961, Louisville, Kentucky, as a single nursing home (Heritage House); incorporated as Extendicare; renamed Humana in 1974
- Founders
- David A. Jones Sr. and Wendell Cherry, two young Louisville lawyers, with ~$1,000 each of initial capital (company history, reported)
- Headquarters
- Louisville, Kentucky (Humana Building, designed by Michael Graves, 1985)
- Ownership / structure
- Public company, NYSE: HUM (listed since 1968 as Extendicare; S&P 500 member)
- Leadership (2026)
- Jim Rechtin, President and CEO (since July 1, 2024); Celeste Mellet, CFO (since January 2025, succeeding Susan Diamond); Kurt Hilzinger, board chair (2026 SEC filings)
- Segment and buyer
- Payer and provider. Insurance segment: individual and group Medicare Advantage, standalone Part D, Medicaid, TRICARE (military). CenterWell segment: senior primary care, home health, pharmacy (mail and specialty). Ultimate buyer is CMS (Medicare), state Medicaid agencies and the Department of Defense
- Scale
- ~5.25m individual Medicare Advantage members at end-2025 (10-K), with guidance for ~25% individual MA membership growth in 2026 (affirmed at Q1 2026; ~6.4m reported at Q1); ~15m+ total medical and Part D members; 2025 revenue ~$129.7bn (GAAP, reported)
- Capital / market cap
- Market cap peaked ~$70bn (late 2022, reported) and fell to roughly ~$25–35bn in 2024–early 2026 as Medicare Advantage margins collapsed; shares jumped ~11–15% to ~$430 after the 2027 Star Ratings (October 2026, reported), roughly ~$50bn
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Nursing homes to hospitals (1960s–70s); hospital spin-off as Galen (1993); Part D and Medicare Advantage pivot (2006); failed Aetna merger and $1bn break fee (2015–17); ACA exchange exit (2017); Kindred at Home and CenterWell (2018–22); Walmart and Cigna merger talks (2018, 2023–24); exit from employer group commercial insurance (2023–25); MA cost shock and CEO transition (2024); star-ratings collapse and lawsuit (2024–25) and recovery (2026)
9 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1961
Founding Extendicare
Founding / pivot
1993
Hospital Spin Off Galen
Spin-off
2006
Medicare Part D and MA Pivot
Pivot / launch
2015
Failed Aetna Merger
Merger (agreed, blocked in court)
2018
Kindred at Home and CenterWell
Acquisition (staged) / partial divestiture
2018
Walmart and Cigna Merger Talks
Merger (explored, not agreed)
2023
Exit Employer Group Commercial
Divestiture / exit (wind-down rather than sale)
2024
MA Cost Shock and CEO Transition
Restructuring / leadership change
2024
Star Ratings Hit
Regulatory setback / litigation / operational turnaround