Humana 1999 Annual Report Download - page 8

This new direction did not come out
of a vacuum. It is built on Humana's
long-standing strengths:
Our effective small-group
operations and broker
relationships.
Our broker relationships are the
envy of the industry and our small-
group products have an outstanding
reputation for quality service. With
the addition of the ChoiceCare
Network, we will preserve this capa-
bility as we improve service on our
other platforms.
Our Medicare HMO experience
and success.
We have a strong Medicare field
sales force, and a telemarketing
operation that has a proven track
record in generating sales. Both
resources can be quickly focused
on growing membership and
capitalizing on profit-improvement
opportunities. In addition, as one
of the very first Medicare HMO
contractors in the 1980s, we have
developed extensive market
experience and valuable relation-
ships with HCFA that constitute an
important asset as we further
develop our Medicare business.
Our military health program.
Humana Military Healthcare Services
is one of the most successful
TRICARE (formerly CHAMPUS)
vendors and has a reputation
we will leverage as we bid for a
larger share of this reliably
profitable business.
Our ChoiceCare Network.
As the second-largest physician and
hospital network in the country, the
ChoiceCare Network gives us access
to nearly half the nation's physician
population and an impressive array
of hospitals. This offers protection
for our small-group franchise
and expansion opportunities in
many states.
And, finally,
Our ten markets with solid share.
We have a significant presence in
ten major markets. This will allow us
to continue to generate the patient
volume we need to support
competitive physician and hospital
arrangements.
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The self-analysis also forced us to
face our weaknesses and develop
plans to cure them.
Through post-enrollment member
health risk appraisals and physician
profiling, we will match those most
needing care with those best able
to provide it. Our goal is to provide
information for health care
consumers so they can manage
themselves instead of being
managed by us.
Our current contracts and products
are too complicated to adapt
easily to an electronically enabled
platform. Ultimately, achieving
success in migrating administrative
functions requires new levels of
discipline and execution toward
simplification. Today we are
designing a radical new generation
of products that take into account
individuals' desire to have more
control over their care and to be
aware of the true cost of the
medical choices they make.
Our historical focus has been on
providing our commercial group
customers with protection from the
financial risk associated with their
employees' health care costs. As
we move forward, providing the
information employers, members
and physicians need to improve the
value of their health care coverage
will be another core element of
our business.
Our vision is to become the most
trusted name in health solutions.
Our purpose is to enable peace of
mind for our customers and
members by providing financial
protection and knowledge that will
empower them to take charge of
their own health and well-being.
Our value proposition is service and
operational excellence.
Although a traditional focus on
helping to secure health and
financial security for our
membership is not to be devalued,
it is insufficient. Today employers
and members demand that we
empower them through greater
access to the knowledge that allows
them to make informed health
decisions. Technology enables us to
meet this need.
As more of the financial
responsibility for making health care
decisions falls to the member, we
have the opportunity to live up to
the vision we have articulated by
providing meaningful, accurate and
timely information that our health
plan members can depend on to
help them make the decisions that
are best for them, thereby providing
them with peace of mind and a
sense of control.
Our stakeholders are getting connected through the company’s new generation of online technology.
The company’s Internet efforts were recognized in late 1999 by PC WEEK
magazine, the leading information technology authority. PC WEEK named Humana 29th
among the nation’s 500 top Web-savvy companies, finishing ahead of many New
Economy pioneers. The top companies were lauded for deploying specific leading-edge
technologies, including e-commerce systems, virtual private networks, data warehouses,
Web-based collaboration software and Intranets with specific applications such
as purchasing.