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Humana
| Humana | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Louisville, Ky. |
| Top official: | Jim Rechtin, President and CEO |
| Year founded: | 1961 |
| Website: | Official website |
Humana is a health insurance company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Originally founded in 1961 as a nursing home operator, the company transitioned into owning and managing hospitals, then to health insurance plans in the 1980s.
According to Forbes, Humana had more 65,000 employees as of 2025.[1]
Background
Humana was founded in 1961 by H. Wendell Cherry and David A. Jones, Sr., who served as the company's chairman until 2005.[2] Originally a nursing home company called Extendicare, the company moved into hospitals in 1974 and changed its name to Humana.[3] According to Louisville Business First, Cherry and Jones "saw an opportunity to create a hospital company with a large-scale management structure to operate the facilities. They believed it could operate more efficiently than competitors because statistics showed most hospitals were run by local owners."[4]
In 1983, after one of the company's hospitals lost a contract with a local health-maintenance organization, Humana created its own health insurance plan. The company eventually spun off the hospital arm of the company—as Galen Health Care—and focused on health insurance exclusively.[4] Since then, the company has focused on provided group health insurance and Medicare plans as well as health and supplemental insurance plans to individuals.[5]
Leadership
The following individuals are members of Humana's board of directors, according to the company's website as of November 2025:[6]
- Raquel C. Bono, M.D.
- Frank A. D'Amelio
- David T. Feinberg, M.D.
- Wayne A.I. Frederick, M.D.
- John W. Garratt
- Kurt J. Hilzinger
- Karen W. Katz
- Marcy S. Klevorn
- Jorge S. Mesquita
- James A. Rechtin
- Gordon Smith
The following individuals are Humana's executive officers, according to the company's website as of November 2025:
- James Rechtin, President and Chief Executive Officer
- David Dintenfass, President, Enterprise Growth
- John-Paul Felter, Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer and Controller
- Japan Mehta, Chief Information Officer
- Celeste Mellet, Chief Financial Officer
- Michelle O'Hara, Chief Human Resources Officer
- George Renaudin II, President, Insurance
- Dr. Sanjay Shetty, President, CenterWell
- Joseph Ventura, Chief Legal Officer
Work and activities
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| Healthcare policy in the U.S. |
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| Obamacare overview |
| Obamacare lawsuits |
| Medicare and Medicaid |
| Healthcare statistics |
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Humana works exclusively in the health insurance industry, offering group insurance plans for employers and individual and supplemental insurance plans. In addition, the company offers a variety of plans for seniors with Medicare coverage. The Humana plans generally supplement Medicare insurance and provide benefits and services, along with prescription drugs.[8]
Lobbying
Humana lobbies the federal government on issues related to healthcare and health insurance. According to The Wall Street Journal, in 2013 the company focused on lobbying "to reverse course on previously announced cuts in funding for the special health-insurance plans known as Medicare Advantage."[9]
The following table details Humana's federal lobbying expenditures:[10]
| Click "show" to the right to view Humana's federal lobbying expenditures, 1998-2024 | |
|---|---|
| Tax Year | Total Expenditures |
| 2024 | $4,830,000 |
| 2023 | $4,920,000 |
| 2022 | $5,760,000 |
| 2021 | $4,930,000 |
| 2020 | $3,640,000 |
| 2019 | $5,690,000 |
| 2018 | $1,200,000 |
| 2017 | $2,240,000 |
| 2016 | $2,240,000 |
| 2015 | $2,466,497 |
| 2014 | $1,358,634 |
| 2013 | $1,441,143 |
| 2012 | $1,910,000 |
| 2011 | $1,865,000 |
| 2010 | $1,289,000 |
| 2009 | $3,180,000 |
| 2008 | $1,785,871 |
| 2007 | $843,074 |
| 2006 | $510,000 |
| 2005 | $380,000 |
| 2004 | $360,000 |
| 2003 | $440,000 |
| 2002 | $460,000 |
| 2001 | $520,000 |
| 2000 | $440,000 |
| 1999 | $640,000 |
| 1998 | $600,000 |
Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this organization made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope. Know of one we missed? Click here to let us know.
Affiliations
As of 2025, Humana had a related PAC, Humana PAC.
According to Humana's website, "The mission of the Humana PAC is to identify and support candidates for office who, like us, believe that private sector health coverage provides the best opportunity for affordable, accessible and quality healthcare for all. Candidates supported by Humana know that our endorsement represents a shared commitment to these goals."[11]
Finances
The following is a breakdown of Humana's revenues, assets, and profits from 2011 to 2024, according to Forbes.
| Year | Revenue | Assets | Profits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $109.2B | $50.1B | $2B |
| 2023 | $95.6B | $54.8B | $3.1B |
| 2022 | $84.1B | $44.7B | $2.9B |
| 2021 | $77.1B | $35.1B | $3.4B |
| 2020 | $67.7B | $34.6B | $2.6B |
| 2019 | $56.9B | $25.7B | $1.7B |
| 2018 | $54.3B | $33.5B | $1.8B |
| 2017 | $54.4B | $25.8B | $594M |
| 2016 | $54.3B | $25.2B | $1.3B |
| 2015 | $48.5B | $24.1B | $1.1B |
| 2014 | $41.3B | $21.3B | $1.2B |
| 2013 | $39.1B | $20B | $1.2B |
| 2012 | $36.8B | $17.7B | $1.4B |
| 2011 | $33.9B | $16.1B | $1.1B |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Humana. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
Noteworthy events
2016 presidential campaign
On October 21, 2015, Hillary Clinton said she had “serious concerns” about Aetna’s planned acquisition of Humana and other mergers between health insurers. "As we see more consolidation in health care, among both providers and insurers, I'm worried that the balance of power is moving too far away from consumers," Clinton said.[12]
Humana and Aetna, a U.S.-based healthcare benefits company, announced their proposed $34 billion merger on July 3, 2015. [13]
U.S. Department of Justice lawsuits
The U.S. Department of Justice filed lawsuits on July 21, 2016, to halt the proposed mergers between Humana and Aetna as well as Cigna and Anthem. The lawsuits arose from concerns that the proposed mergers would limit competition in the health insurance market, raise health insurance premiums, and create challenges for the Affordable Care Act.[14]
“If allowed to proceed, these mergers would fundamentally reshape the health insurance industry,” said Attorney General Loretta Lynch. “They would leave much of the multi-trillion dollar health insurance industry in the hands of three mammoth insurance companies, drastically constricting competition in a number of key markets that tens of millions of Americans rely on to receive health care.”[14]
All four health insurers fought the lawsuits. According to Reuters, Humana and Aetna stated that they would "vigorously defend the companies’ pending merger."[15]
U.S. District Court Judge John Bates issued a ruling to block the merger between Aetna and Humana on January 23, 2017.[16]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 'Forbes, "Humana," accessed November 18, 2025
- ↑ University of Louisville College of Arts and Sciences, "Betty and David Jones," accessed April 25, 2016
- ↑ Yahoo, "Humana: Unraveling the history of a health insurance giant," February 16, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Louisville Business First, "Humana’s history has been one of recognizing opportunities," November 11, 2011
- ↑ Humana, "Humana sites," accessed April 25, 2016
- ↑ Humana, "Contact the Board of Directors," accessed November 17, 2025
- ↑ Humana, "Leadership Team," accessed November 17, 2025
- ↑ Humana, "Medicare: What you need to know," accessed April 25, 2016
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, "Humana Fires Lobbying Firm, Launches Internal Review," April 18, 2013
- ↑ Open Secrets, "Humana Inc.," accessed November 18, 2025
- ↑ Humana, "Our political contributions and activities," accessed November 18, 2025
- ↑ Reuters, "Clinton has 'serious concerns' about Aetna-Humana, Anthem-Cigna mergers," October 21, 2015
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedhealth - ↑ 14.0 14.1 Politico, "DOJ files lawsuits to block mergers of insurance giants," July 21, 2016
- ↑ Reuters, "U.S. regulators sue to block Anthem-Cigna, Aetna-Humana insurer mergers," July 21, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Judge blocks major health insurance merger," January 23, 2017
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