Humana Expects Medicare PDP Membership ‘Headwind’ in 2021

Judging by executives’ comments during its third-quarter 2020 earnings conference call, Humana Inc. is finding it difficult to stand out in the fiercely competitive market for stand-alone Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (PDPs).

Humana President and CEO Bruce Broussard, in his prepared remarks on Nov. 3, explained that the Medicare-focused insurer made major changes to its PDP portfolio for 2020 after experiencing “meaningful PDP membership losses in 2019.” The company combined two plans “to create space” to offer a new low-premium plan co-branded with Walmart, which became the most competitively priced offering in the majority of regions where Humana competes and thus “grew substantially by adding almost 1 million members,” Broussard said.

© 2025 MMIT
Leslie Small

Leslie Small

Leslie has been working in journalism since 2009 and reporting on the health care industry since 2014. She has covered the many ups and downs of the Affordable Care Act exchanges, the failed health insurer mega-mergers, and hundreds of other storylines spanning subjects such as Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage, employer-sponsored insurance, and prescription drug coverage. As the managing editor of Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits, she writes and edits for both publications while overseeing a small team of reporters who also focus on the managed care sector. Before joining AIS Health, she was a senior editor for the e-newsletter Fierce Health Payer, and she started her career as a copy editor at multiple local newspapers. She graduated with a dual degree in journalism and political science from Penn State University.

Related Posts

September 26

News Briefs: Sanders Touts PBM Promise in Pushing for Wegovy, Ozempic Price Cut

READ MORE
republican-and-democratic-party
September 26

Would Red or Blue Election Wins Be Better for PBMs? It’s a Tossup

READ MORE
pharmacist
September 26

Satisfaction With PBM Industry Dips to Record Low in 2024

READ MORE

GAIN THERAPEUTIC AREA-SPECIFIC INTEL TO DRIVE ACCESS FOR YOUR BRAND

Sign up for publications to get unmatched business intelligence delivered to your inbox.

subscribe today