Yahoo Finance Humana (HUM) Collaborates With Veda to Enhance Efficiency
Humana Inc. HUM recently announced its strategic partnership with Veda, which is aimed at solving provider data challenges. Veda will aid Humana in improving the accuracy of provider information and helping seniors get real-time details of in-network providers. This will help seniors gain access to high-quality health services and improve customer satisfaction as a result.
This move bodes well for Humana as it spends a good chunk of time in calls to confirm provider data. Inaccurate and inconsistent data from provider directories will cause friction in the process of finding a provider, thereby increasing administrative work for providers, health plans and seniors. This partnership is a time opportune one, as HUM’s earnings fell by a huge margin in the fourth quarter, owing to rising operating costs. Reduction in costs will provide some respite to the company in the future.
Humana will gain access to Veda’s patented technology to ascertain if the data is thorough and accurate. Veda’s technology will verify, analyze and standardize data and provide a real-time data quality score. The company’s automation technology will enable HUM to spend more resources and time to improve patient experience and satisfaction. Veda’s platform has high data accuracy as measured by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services. HUM will also improve the experience for its provider community with this technological transformation.
Humana is expected to improve care delivery and interoperability with this partnership. Accurate and comprehensive provider data is an essential component of operations, which will enable the timely delivery of care to patients.
HUM currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). Shares of Humana have plunged 25.1% in the past six months against the industry’s 7.4% rise.
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Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked stocks in the Medical space are The Cigna Group CI, ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ANIP and Cencora, Inc. COR. Each of these companies currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Cigna’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 2.9%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CI’s 2024 earnings suggests 13% growth from the year-ago reported figure.
The consensus estimate for CI’s 2024 earnings has moved 0.3% north in the past 30 days. Shares of Cigna have gained 15.5% in the past year.
ANI Pharmaceuticals’ earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 105.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ANIP’s 2023 earnings is pegged at $4.51 per share, which indicates more than a two-fold increase from the prior-year reported figure. The same for revenues indicates growth of 51.1% from the year-ago reported figure.
The consensus estimate for ANIP’s 2023 earnings has moved 0.7% north in the past 30 days. Shares of ANIP Pharmaceuticals have gained 44% in a year.
Cencora’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 6.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for COR’s fiscal 2024 earnings indicates a rise of 11.9%, while the same for revenues suggests an improvement of 11.4% from the corresponding year-ago reported estimates.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for COR’s fiscal 2024 earnings has moved 1.1% north in the past week. Shares of Cencora have rallied 52.2% in the past year.
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