Humana's 2024 in 10 headlines

Humana welcomed a new CEO in 2024 amid rising Medicare Advantage costs.

Here are the 10 biggest stories about Humana Becker's covered in 2024: 

1.  Humana CFO Susan Diamond will step down after 18 years with the insurer in 2025. The company named Celeste Mellet, CFO of investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners, as Ms. Diamond's successor. 
   
   
2. Cigna is not pursuing a merger with Humana, Cigna confirmed in November. Speculation the two companies could combine reemerged in October, after a deal fell through in 2023.
   
   
3. The percentage of Humana Medicare Advantage members enrolled in plans rated 4 stars or higher for 2025 dropped significantly. The company expects this will negatively affect its 2026 revenues. Humana filed a legal challenge over the ratings in October, asking a federal judge to require CMS to "retract and recalculate" its 2025 star ratings. 
   
   
4. Humana exited 13 Medicare Advantage markets for 2025, company executives told investors. The company faced unprecedented Medicare Advantage costs in 2023 and 2024.
   
   
5. Humana paid $90 million to settle allegations it submitted fraudulent bids for its Part D plans between 2011 and 2017. 
   
   
6. The two-midnight rule drove up inpatient costs for Humana in 2024. CFO Susan Diamond said the two-midnight rule was likely the largest factor driving higher inpatient costs in the second quarter of 2024.
   
   
7. Humana will open primary care clinics at 23 former Walmart Health sites. Walmart will lease the clinics to Humana, though the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
   
   
8. Humana's new president and CEO Jim Rechtin assumed the top role in July. 
   
   
9. Humana will consolidate its Louisville, Ky., headquarters, exiting the 27-story tower that bears its name, the company said in February. Humana will exit the downtown Louisville location over the next 18 to 24 months, and employees will work from the nearby Waterside Building and Clocktower Building.
   
   
10. In 2024, over a dozen hospitals and health systems stopped participating in Humana Medicare Advantage plans.