AdaptHealth sees Humana deal as ‘starting ground’

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – AdaptHealth’s new partnership with Humana to provide home medical equipment to about 1 million Medicare Advantage HMO members could lay the groundwork for bigger things in the future, says CEO Steve Griggs. 

Humana in mid-May announced it had awarded capitated care contracts to AdaptHealth and Rotech Healthcare to provide home medical equipment services to its Medicare Advantage HMO members. 

“What’s exciting for us is, because it’s so substantial with Humana, we’re really looking forward to anything else we might do with them for the patient to have a better experience in the home,” said Griggs. “I think this is a starting ground for AdaptHealth, as long as we can do a good job. We’re leaders in patient engagement and physician engagement, and that could lead to some cool things for us and for Humana.” 

Certainly, the Medicare Advantage business is booming: in January 2023, 30.19 million of the 59.82 million people with both Medicare Part A and Part B were enrolled in a plan, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. 

AdaptHealth will provide capitated contract services in 33 states, primarily in the eastern half of the U.S., and the District of Columbia. With its own national network of more than 700 locations, the provider’s territory has plenty of overlap with Humana’s, says Griggs. 

“There’s some scarcity out there, but in places where Humana has a stronghold, we have a very good presence, so I think we’ll be able to manage those very well,” he said. “Humana is nationwide so we need to make sure we can take care of the patients across the continental U.S.” 

The deal with Humana dovetails nicely with AdaptHealth’s mission to build “Adapt 2.0,” a model that will allow the company to create greater efficiencies through, among other things, increased use of e-prescribing and digital orders, as health care shifts more toward value-based care, says Griggs. 

“We’re trying to make a difference in that patient’s life,” he said. “Can we change that patient’s behavior to get them to respond better not just to our services, but other adjunct services and products in the home? That’s all part of it – it gets us a better seat at the table but we’re also working with many insurers or managed care entities on that type of relationship.” 

AdaptHealth plans to manage Medicare Advantage HMO members itself, but the company may do some subcontracting where it makes sense, says Griggs. 

“You have existing equipment on existing patients, so we want to work with our fellow competitors out there that we have good relationships with on how to take care of those patients,” he said. “We are going to try to take care of the patient doing it the best way we can and if that is subcontracting, I think that’s OK too.” 

Rotech Healthcare declined to comment on the contract at this time.