By Paige Minemyer
Humana’s CenterWell and Welsh, Carson, Anderson and Stowe are teaming for a second joint venture focused on value-based primary care.
Through the venture, the two partners will deploy US$1.2 billion to develop 100 new senior-focused primary care clinics between 2023 and 2025, and then operate these locations to ensure they reach profitability. Humana and WCAS first joined forces in February 2020, a partnership that is putting $800 million toward opening 67 clinics by early 2023.
WCAS will have a majority stake in the joint venture, and Humana a minority stake, according to the announcement.
“We are excited to grow our partnership with Humana to improve access to senior-focused, value-based primary care across the United States,” said general partner at WCAS, David Caluori in a statement. “We look forward to continuing our work alongside the CenterWell team to deploy their care model at scale.”
CenterWell Senior Primary Care is the largest provider of senior-focused primary care in the country, and it is actively working to expand through multiple strategies. As of March 31, Humana’s primary care business operates 217 clinics across the CenterWell and Conviva Care Solutions brands, including 37 under its initial joint venture with WCAS.
The 214 locations serve about 180,000 Medicare Advantage enrollees through value-based care arrangements, Humana said.
Humana expects to have 250 clinics open by the end of 2022.
“Physicians and patients alike are coming to recognize the many advantages of our unique, senior-focused primary care model,” said president of Humana’s Primary Care Organization, Reneé Buckingham in a statement. “Doctors and nurses spending more time with patients, paying greater attention to both the physical and mental aspects of health, and following a team-based approach all allow for personalized, value-based care that helps improve lives.”
“Early success has led to increased interest in our payer-agnostic model, and under this new joint venture, we look forward to significantly expanding our geographic footprint and serving even more patients in more communities around the country,” Buckingham said.
