Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) – one of the largest insurers and home health providers in the country – announced a leadership transition Wednesday. Longtime CEO Bruce Broussard will step down, with Jim Rechtin stepping into his position in 2024.
This was a “long-planned” CEO transition, according to Humana. Rechtin will join Humana on Jan. 8, 2024 as president and COO and will report to Broussard. Then, in the latter half of 2024, Broussard will officially step down from his post and Rechtin will take over.
Broussard – who will remain a strategic advisor to Humana into 2025 – has been with the company since 2011, serving as the CEO since 2013. During his tenure, Humana became much more than an insurer. It made multiple major moves into health care services, and specifically the home.
“Leading this company and team of employees is an incredible honor,” Broussard said in a statement. “As we work to make this a seamless transition in the coming months, I look forward to partnering with Jim. He brings a collaborative, thoughtful and innovative leadership style to our organization, making him a natural fit for the culture of today and the future. Additionally, Jim has worked closely with clinicians in many different care settings. That experience will help support our growing clinical footprint and continuing evolution as a health care company and the important work we do in driving health outcomes for our customers.”
Based in Louisville, Kentucky, Humana is one of the largest insurance companies in the country. In 2023, it owned close to 20% of the entire Medicare Advantage (MA) market, with about 5.8 million members. Its health care services arm – CenterWell – includes pharmacy, home health care and primary care.
CenterWell Home Health specifically has over 360 locations across 380 states. CenterWell Primary Care also recently launched its at-home primary care program in Georgia and Louisiana, with plans for expansion. Humana also owned the personal home care provider SeniorBridge under Broussard’s watch.
“We’re a big believer that home is an opportunity for a lot of expansion, all the way from expansion of clinical models that we’re able to utilize there, and the type of services that are offered in the home,” Broussard said in May. “We look at home as being a trajectory of a longer-term opportunity for us.”
As for Rechtin, he’ll be coming from Envision Healthcare, where he has served as president and CEO.
Based in Nashville, Envision Healthcare is a large hospital-based physician group. The company filed for bankruptcy in May of this year, largely due to headwinds caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Rechtin joined the company in February of 2020.
Prior to that, he was the president of UnitedHealth Group’s (NYSE: UNH) OptumCare for a short stint. Rechtin also was with DaVita Medical Group – now a part of Optum – for five years, serving as a market president and the SVP of strategy.
“The board of directors has worked diligently to find the right leader who can take Humana into the next phase of growth and transformation,” Kurt Hilzinger, the chairman of Humana’s board, said in a statement. “Jim brings a strong combination of operational, industry and CEO expertise. His first-hand experience leading through challenges and opportunities of a changing health care services continuum will help accelerate our integrated care strategy at pace.”
Of note, Walgreens Boots Alliance (Nasdaq: WBA) – another large health care company delving further into home-based health care services – also announced it had found its next CEO Wednesday in Tim Wentworth.
Current Walgreens CEO Roz Brewer announced she would be stepping down last month. Wentworth was formerly the CEO of Express Scripts, which was acquired by Cigna (NYSE: CI) in 2018.
Wentworth will start on Oct. 23. Humana’s CEO transition, on the other hand, will be much more drawn out.
“Humana is a stronger and healthier company because of Bruce’s leadership,” Hilzinger said. “During his tenure, Humana tripled its Medicare Advantage membership, becoming the second largest MA provider in the U.S. with more than 5 million customers today. His passion for our customers and vision for evolving health insurance and integrating health care delivery led to the creation of CenterWell – the largest provider of senior-focused primary care and one of the largest home health companies in the nation.”
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