Humana exits $900M position in end-of-life provider Gentiva
Humana has agreed to sell its stake in home healthcare and hospice company Gentiva, of which it owns 40%. After the divestment is complete, the insurer said its minority position will be completely or almost completely closed, as the transaction is in its early stages.
The company said its share of Gentiva is worth $900 million.
An announcement from Humana did not provide a lot of specifics, but did confirm that it had already signed a definitive agreement with a “consortium of investors” to offload its portion of Gentiva.
As to who those investors are or what percentage each will own after the deal is complete, that information was not revealed. Humana did say that it will be using proceeds from the sale for “general corporate purposes,” supporting its core business of providing medical coverage to individuals and employers.
The Kentucky-based healthcare company said the deal will likely close in the third quarter of 2026. Despite taking in a huge sum of money, the insurer stated that it does not expect its divestiture from Gentiva to materially impact earnings this year.
The $900 million sale will also need to be approved by regulators and is subject to customary closing conditions, Humana added.
Moving away from at-home care delivery
How Humana ended up with Gentiva as part of its portfolio dates back to its 2021 purchase of Kindred Healthcare, a large chain of long-term acute care and rehabilitation hospitals, also headquartered in Kentucky.
At the time, Humana said it was looking to cut the fat by selling off any businesses owned by Kindred that were not part of its core business—including Kindred at Home, the wing of the company that provided offsite care to patients, often in their dying days.
To that end, Humana has already made some divestments from hospice, palliative and home care companies. In 2022, it was able to successfully sell KAH Hospice—a Kindred at Home subsidiary—to a group of private investment firms.
However, after the hospice company spun off into its own business and was rebranded as Gentiva, Humana ended up with a minority stake.
After this sale is finalized, the insurer confirmed that it will no longer be involved in any of the remnants of Kindred at Home.
Gentiva, the largest provider of end-of-life care in the country, operates more than 430 locations in 35 states.
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