Humana Inc., one of Louisiana’s leading health benefits companies, announced today that it has launched a series of disaster relief efforts assisting its associates, members and their communities devastated by this month’s historic flooding in Louisiana.
Flooding over the past several days has swamped southeastern Louisiana. More than 40,000 homes have been affected by the worst flooding in a century, with more than 30,000 people rescued and another 11,000 currently in shelters.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency for the entire state of Louisiana, and President Obama has issued a Disaster Declaration for 12 of the Louisiana parishes hardest hit by the catastrophic floods. Federal disaster support has also been made available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“We at Humana stand with our associates, our members and our communities across Louisiana recovering from this devastating flood,” said Humana Gulf States Medicare President April Golenor. “We have more than 650 associates who work and live in Louisiana, serving our more than 350,000 health plan members across the state, and we know many of them are hurting right now and in need of our help, assistance and support.”
In responding to the flooding in Louisiana, Humana has taken these steps:
- Humana health plan members in Louisiana with prescriptions can obtain early refills of their medications, and without authorization from their physicians or Humana.
- Humana members who live in the disaster area, and who contact Humana, will receive automatic authorization for medical services that normally require pre-authorization.
- Humana has opened its toll-free Employee Assistance Program (EAP) hotline beyond Humana Louisiana associates and members to include the community. Counselors and work/life specialists are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-866-440-6556 to provide free, confidential assistance to anyone needing help and support in coping with the disaster and its aftermath.
- Humana Louisiana Medicare, commercial and individual members with questions about services available to them should call the toll-free phone number on the back of their Humana ID card.
- Humana, which has launched an ambitious public health initiative to improve the health of New Orleans and Baton Rouge by 20 percent by 2020, has donated $10,000 to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank through its Baton Rouge Health Advisory Board. The advisory board is a coalition of employers, health care providers and nonprofits convened by Humana, focused on developing programs to improve health in Baton Rouge.
Humana Gulf States Medicare Medical Director Dr. Shelly Gupta, cochair of the Baton Rouge Health Advisory Board, said, “We’re in collective pursuit of a healthier community, and we know that right now it’s vital to help South Louisiana recover from this disaster.”
About Humana
Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is a leading health and well-being company focused on making it easy for people to achieve their best health with clinical excellence through coordinated care. The company’s strategy integrates care delivery, the member experience, and clinical and consumer insights to encourage engagement, behavior change, proactive clinical outreach and wellness for the millions of people we serve across the country.
More information regarding Humana is available to investors via the Investor Relations page of the company’s web site at www.humana.com, including copies of:
- Annual reports to stockholders
- Securities and Exchange Commission filings
- Most recent investor conference presentations
- Quarterly earnings news releases
- Calendar of events
- Corporate Governance information
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160817005824/en/
Contacts:
Mitch Lubitz, 813-287-6180
mlubitz@humana.com
