LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Humana Inc., Kentucky's largest publicly traded company, said Wednesday that CEO Bruce Broussard will step down in 2024 after more than 10 years and hand the reins to a health care executive who plans to continue the health insurer's evolution into a health care provider.
Jim Rechtin, CEO of Nashville-based Envision Healthcare, will become Humana's chief operating officer in January and take over as CEO in the latter half of 2024 when Broussard leaves the post, Humana said in a news release.
The selection of a leader with a background in healthcare operations underscores Humana's push into healthcare services.
The vast majority of Humana’s $100 billion in annual revenue comes from its insurance business, especially its lucrative Medicare Advantage franchise.
But Humana — which decades ago was a nursing home and hospital operator — has been inching back into healthcare. Most visibly, it has stood up hundreds of "senior focused" primary care clinics under its CenterWell brand.
New CEO comes from bankrupt company
Jim Rechtin, Humana new CEO. Image courtesy Envision Healthcare.
Envision is a private-equity backed physician staffing company with a national footprint. It was purchased by private-equity giant KKR in 2018 and saddled with billions in debt as part of the deal.
Rechtin, who joined Envision in 2020, oversaw the company’s descent into bankruptcy. When Enivision filed for Chapter 11 protection in May, the Wall Street Journal called it “one of the largest healthcare-related bankruptcy cases ever.”
But Humana’s board of directors did not see the Envision bankruptcy as disqualifying for Rechtin, the company said in a statement.
“The Humana board, as part of its candidate evaluation process, independently reviewed the situation at Envision and came away with high confidence in Jim’s leadership skills,” Humana spokesman Mark Taylor said. “Jim joined Envision at a challenging time, but sharpened invaluable skills in navigating the company through complex issues that predated his tenure as CEO.”
Envision continues to operate after the bankruptcy filing, which is intended to restructure its debts.
Rechtin said on LinkedIn Wednesday that Envision is “on a promising new path and many opportunities ahead.”
“It has been a true privilege to serve Envision’s community of clinicians and support teammates through extraordinary times,” he said.
Rechtin was previously an executive with United Healthcare, Humana's main rival in its primary business, Medicare Advantage. For six months in 2019, Rechtin was president of OptumCare, United Healthcare’s provider business.
Prior to that, Rechtin was an executive with DaVita Medical Group, the dialysis company and a partner at prestigious business consultancy Bain & Co. He also served as a member of the U.S. Peace Corps in the Congo.
Unclear if new CEO will live in Louisville
While Envision is headquartered in Nashville, Rechtin and his family live in Denver, Colorado. His offer letter for the Humana position says he is expected to move either to Louisville or to Washington, D.C., where Humana maintains an executive office.
When Broussard joined Humana in 2011, the expectation was that he would move to Louisville — where Humana was founded in 1961. But Broussard sold his Louisville residence in 2020 and claims Florida residency for taxes, WDRB reported last year.
While some C-Suite executives remain Louisville-based, Rechtin’s offer letter underscores how D.C. has become a shadow headquarters the company, which WDRB documented in 2022.
When Sanjay Shetty was named president of CenterWell, Humana’s healthcare division, in 2023, he moved from Texas to the D.C. area.
As for Rechtin, he is “committed to having a strong presence in Louisville and his family will be moving to be closer to one of our main Humana offices,” Humana said Wednesday. “He will be traveling to many different Humana and CenterWell locations in the first year, meeting with leaders, teams and customers and learning about our business.”
Rechtin is a Kentucky native, Humana said, though spokespeople were unable to immediately say where in Kentucky he is from.
This breaking story will be updated.
