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Humana (HUM) Includes Methodist Healthcare in its Network

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Humana Inc. (HUM - Free Report) recently entered into an agreement with Methodist Healthcare to provide better service to its patients. This, in turn, will help deliver a more proactive and wellness-focused health care experience.

The latest network agreement, which became effective on Jan 1, 2017, includes Humana Medicare Advantage members. The new coverage will include all Methodist Healthcare adult hospitals.

The agreement will allow Humana’s Medicare Advantage members in Memphis to gain access to Methodist Healthcare’s network of reputed health care providers and facilities. The addition of Methodist Healthcare to Humana’s growing Medicare business will offer the existing Medicare Advantage members a strong provider network. Further, the agreement will be an important step in Humana’s continued growth in the market.

Interestingly, Humana’s Medicare Advantage business has been delivering a strong performance. This is mainly due to the operating initiatives that have resulted in favorable prior period medical claims development and lower current-year utilization. This has also enabled the company to return to its targeted margin levels sooner than expected.

Shares of Humana have gained 5.82% since the release of fourth-quarter results, outperforming the Zacks categorized Health Maintenance Organization industry’s growth of 3.68%. Solid bottom-line improvement mainly contributed to the outperformance. Robust growth in the individual Medicare Advantage (MA) business as well as higher operating earnings in the Healthcare Services segment were primarily responsible for the upside. Moving ahead, strong capital management and strategic initiatives undertaken by the company are expected to drive the stock higher.



Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the medical sector include Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (ACRS - Free Report) , WellCare Health Plans, Inc. and The Joint Corp. (JYNT - Free Report) . Each of these stocks holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Aclaris Therapeutics focuses on identifying, developing, and commercializing topical drugs to address various needs in dermatology. The company delivered positive surprises in two of the last four quarters with an average beat of 6.21%.

WellCare Health provides managed care services for government-sponsored health care programs. The company delivered positive surprises in all of the last four quarters with an average beat of 62.73%.
 
The Joint Corp. develops, owns, operates, franchises, supports, and manages chiropractic clinics in the United States. The company delivered a positive surprise in two of the last four quarters but with an average negative surprise of 5.20%.

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