Health insurance giant Humana is teaming up with the University of Houston in a long-term strategic partnership focused on training healthcare professionals on population health and value-based care. The collaboration aims to boost graduation for physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals at a time when the industry is facing a looming shortage of professionals.
Humana, based in Louisville, Kentucky, currently serves more than 1.8 million medical members in Texas with roughly 2,800 employees. Across its health plans, Humana has 3.3 million Medicare Advantage members, 5.3 million Prescription Drug Plan members, 1.5 million commercial group members, and 6 million TRICARE members, in addition to more than 800,000 members enrolled in its in-home care business, Humana at Home. The company has increasingly shifted its operations toward value-based care and population health management over the last several years, including making major acquisitions in the home care and hospice space.
The partnership will create the Humana Integrated Health System Sciences Institute at the University of Houston, uniting the university’s new College of Medicine and the existing colleges of nursing, pharmacy, social work and optometry. The start-up and operational costs for the College of Medicine will be covered by a $15 million gift from Humana over 10 years. Humana will also provide fund endowed chairs for each of the five colleges.
“This is an investment in the future of our healthcare system, which depends on clinical leaders who understand concepts like population health, the importance of social determinants of health and the need to emphasize value over the volume of health care services provided,” said Humana Chief Medical Officer Roy Beveridge, MD. “The University of Houston is an ideal partner to continue Humana’s integrated care delivery evolution because we share a vision for addressing these imperatives and for caring for individuals in underserved communities with the greatest health needs.”
The new College of Medicine is slated to admit 30 students in its inaugural class once it is approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and Texas Legislature and receives accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.
For Humana, the partnership offers the opportunity for adjunct professors to share Humana subject matter, and both entities anticipate benefits from shaping curricula around value-based payment, home-based care, population health and data analytics. The two expect to partner on research and publications, and benefit from the establishment of value-based care clinic labs of UH health sciences students and medical residents.
The initiative meets the goals of Humana’s Bold Goal, which aims to improve the health of the communities it serves 20 percent by 2020 through population health, including addressing social determinants of health such as food insecurity, social isolation and inadequate transportation. Humana is also committed to raising $1 billion in the university’s “Here, We Go” campaign to support scholarships, faculty support, facilities and connections to Housing and the healthcare community.
“Humana and the University of Houston share a commitment to helping people achieve their best health with a focus on population health, primary care and value-based care,” Renu Khator, president of the University of Houston, said in a statement. “We have the unique opportunity to be innovative and synergistic in our approach and curriculum. We are serious about an interdisciplinary, integrated approach to health education that will make a life-changing difference in Houston and beyond, and this transformative gift clearly positions that dream to become a reality.”
The new partnership comes on the heels of several other initiatives and partnerships by Humana, including a new platform with wearables company Fitbit and a digital health and analytics focus. Humana also recently partnered with the University of Chicago to serve Medicare Advantage members.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."