AET Aetna Inc. (delisted)

On Monday, Humana Inc. (HUM) announced its plan to employ 300 new registered nurses, social workers and community health educators in its Humana Cares division by the end of this fall. Out of the 300 new additions, 250 will be hired at the company’s national care center in St. Petersburg.

The expansion is necessitated by the increased membership in Humana’s national chronic care management programs like complex care management program and special needs plan, apart from the rising count of dual-eligible members, who need more care as they are entitled to both Medicare and Medicaid.

Humana has already started the recruitment process via its website. It will also hold weekly job fairs at St. Petersburg till September-end. Additionally, it will host a special job fair for military veterans and their families at St. Petersburg in September to advance towards its objective of employing over 1000 military veterans and their spouses over the next three years.

Humana has been steadily increasing its employee base. In July, the company had announced its plan to hire 200 full-time employees, including customer care specialists and front-line supervisors, at its national Medicare service operations center in Tampa.

Currently Humana employs over 5,000 people in Florida and is counted among the state’s largest healthcare employers. The company has a national employee strength of more than 34,000. Its Humana Care division expects to have around 1,300 employees by the year-end.

Humana provides high-quality, personalized care to its 125,000 members via various innovative techniques. For instance, it uses a two-way interactive video technology called the Intel Health Guide which enables nurses to monitor the vital statistics of cardiac patients without having to visit them. These efforts are also expected to enhance Humana’s market position where it primarily competes with CIGNA Corporation (CI), Aetna Inc. (AET) and UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH).

Humana carries a Zacks #1 Rank, which translates into a Strong Buy rating for the short-term.

On Wednesday, the shares of the company closed at $72.67, up 1.11%, at the New York Stock Exchange.

 
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