Dive Brief:
- Humana is bringing a former Amazon executive onboard to lead its Medicare Advantage business in the new year — and to take the reins of the payer’s larger insurance segment after its current president retires in the back half of 2026.
- Aaron Martin will join Humana in January as president of Medicare Advantage, a newly created role consolidating oversight of Humana’s operations in the privatized Medicare program, the insurer announced Tuesday. Martin will then step up as president of Humana’s insurance segment after its current head, George Renaudin, retires by the third quarter of next year after almost three decades at the insurer.
- At that time, John Barger, the president of Humana’s Medicaid and dual-eligible programs, will be promoted to president of MA. Renaudin will stay on as strategic advisor at least until end of 2026.
Dive Insight:
The departure of Renaudin, a veteran of the Louisville, Kentucky-based payer who’s helped the company grow into the MA giant it is today, is unlikely to be welcomed by investors, given it augurs a leadership turnover at a time of acute stress for insurers in the privatized Medicare program.
And Martin is an unexpected replacement, given the executive has never been employed by an insurer. For the past three years, Martin has worked as Amazon’s vice president of healthcare, overseeing strategic partnerships, marketing and Amazon’s telehealth and chronic conditions programs.
Prior to joining Amazon in 2022, Martin was the chief digital officer of nonprofit health system Providence, and the managing general partner of Providence Ventures, Providence’s venture capital arm that the system later spun out. Martin joined Providence after an earlier, non-healthcare-related stint at Amazon.
Still, Humana said Martin’s experience at the intersection of technology, consumerism and healthcare makes him a valuable addition to its team.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Aaron to Humana. His experience in applying technology and a consumer-centric approach within the healthcare ecosystem will strengthen our ability to serve members and deliver better outcomes,” Humana CEO Jim Rechtin said in a statement Tuesday.
Humana is the second-largest MA insurer in the county, covering 5.8 million members nationwide. Like its peers in the privatized Medicare program, Humana struggled with rising costs as seniors utilize more medical care. Plan cuts coming into 2025 helped insulate the insurer from the brunt of higher spending, though some analysts are worried about Humana’s positioning in 2026 — the insurer may have made its plans too generous, which could impact margins next year.
Humana is also working to improve its MA star ratings, which are meant to measure plan quality and are tied to lucrative bonuses in MA. The insurer has spent hundreds of millions of dollars this year in this pursuit, and says it’s making progress — despite lackluster ratings for 2026.
Humana also reaffirmed its 2025 earnings per share guidance on Tuesday, below analysts’ expectations. The insurer expects adjusted EPS of $17 in the year.
Humana’s stock fell almost 6% over Tuesday’s trade following the news.
