In Spite of Pandemic, Humana’s ‘Bold Goal’ Population Health Effort Accelerates

Providing an update to its “Bold Goal” project designed to proactively improve the health of its members, Humana’s 2021 report revealed that the insurer’s population health initiatives progressed, and even accelerated, during a year that presented numerous challenges to physical and mental health.

The ambitious Bold Goal population health strategy launched in 2015 to improve the health of the communities it serves. Humana’s Bold Goal focuses on addressing social determinants of health and the health-related social needs of Humana members and communities. The company and its many partners pay special attention to food security and social connection, with the intent of improving holistic health and health-related quality of life.

For the effort, Humana uses the CDC’s health-related quality of life “Healthy Days” tool to track and measure population health. The tool, which measures mentally and physically unhealthy days of individuals over a 30-day period, aims to provide the flexibility to pinpoint where and when health happens in each community, to measure health outcomes, and to create proactive interventions.

“We are at a pivotal moment in our country’s history as we work to get through the COVID pandemic. Actions we are taking now – and commitments we are making for the years ahead – enable us to continue helping the people we serve have more Healthy Days and better lives,” said Bruce D. Broussard, Humana president and CEO. “Humana’s Bold Goal approach shows that it is helping improve members’ health – even during the toughest health crises – and reinforces the importance of social health needs in overall health.”

Some key report findings, released by Humana, include:

• The insurer helped its Medicare Advantage members maintain their overall health-related quality of life in 2020, while they actually improved their number of physically Healthy Days each month. This was accomplished through proactive intervention to ensure the physical, mental and social needs of members were met, and also through cross-sector collaborations that expanded access to necessary care. Notably, some of those most impacted by the pandemic – people with depression or a disability, or low-income individuals – experienced an overall improvement in Healthy Days due in part to these efforts, Humana reported.
• Compared to the baseline year 2015, Medicare Advantage members in Bold Goal communities are experiencing fewer unhealthy days than those in non-Bold Goal communities.
• Humana’s Basic Needs Program, which launched to meet urgent needs because of the pandemic, made a clear impact on food insecurity. Humana fielded as many as 2,000 requests daily. During 2020, the Basic Needs Program served 78,000+ members, with more than 1.1 million meals provided. The program allows Humana members to receive 14 days of nutritionally balanced meals.
  
• Humana conducted nearly 6.2 million screenings for health-related social needs in 2020. It set an enterprise-wide goal to conduct 3 million screenings, so in the end, the company more than doubled that goal. These screenings resulted in the connection of members to resources and support that directly and measurably addressed their needs. In last year’s Bold Goal report, Humana said it screened more than 2.6 million Humana members for social determinants of health in 2019.

Humana’s Bold Goal launched in 2015 in seven communities. Today, Humana expanded its Bold Goal work and community collaborations to 16 communities, and has also significantly expanded its focus on addressing social determinants of health and health-related social needs.

“We can see that taking a proactive approach – talking to members and meeting their very personal needs – helped us focus our outreach, resources and efforts to support them when they needed us most,” said William Shrank, M.D., Humana’s chief medical and corporate affairs officer. “We remain committed to addressing health disparities and care gaps in our communities and breaking down barriers to drive lasting change.”