UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
| x | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003
OR
| ¨ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from to
Commission file number 1-5975
HUMANA INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | 61-0647538 | |
| (State of incorporation) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) | |
| 500 West Main Street | ||
| Louisville, Kentucky | 40202 | |
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) | |
Registrants telephone number, including area code: (502) 580-1000
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class |
Name of exchange on which registered | |
| Common stock, $0.16 2/3 par value |
New York Stock Exchange | |
| 7.25% Senior Notes, due August 2006 |
| |
| 6.30% Senior Notes, due August 2018 |
|
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No ¨
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of the Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrants knowledge, in the Registrants definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Parts I, II and III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes x No ¨
The aggregate market value of voting stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant as of June 30, 2003 was $2,290,660,754 calculated using the average price on such date of $15.11.
The number of shares outstanding of the Registrants Common Stock as of February 29, 2004 was 162,109,152.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Parts I, II and III incorporate herein by reference portions of the Registrants Proxy Statement filed pursuant to Regulation 14A covering the Annual Meeting of Stockholders scheduled to be held April 22, 2004.
HUMANA INC.
INDEX TO ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K
For the Year Ended December 31, 2003
PART I
| ITEM 1. | BUSINESS |
General
Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Humana Inc. referred to throughout this document as we, us, our, the Company or Humana, is one of the nations largest publicly traded health benefits companies, based on our 2003 revenues of $12.2 billion. We offer coordinated health insurance coverage and related services through a variety of traditional and Internet-based plans for employer groups, government-sponsored programs, and individuals. As of December 31, 2003, we had approximately 6.8 million members in our medical insurance programs, as well as approximately 1.7 million members in our specialty products programs. We have approximately 463,300 contracts with physicians, hospitals, dentists, and other providers to provide health care to our members. In 2003, approximately 70% of our premiums and administrative services fees resulted from members located in Florida, Illinois, Texas, Kentucky, and Ohio. We derived approximately 42% of our premiums and administrative services fees from contracts with the federal government in 2003. Under two federal government contracts with the Department of Defense, we provide health insurance coverage to the TRICARE members, accounting for approximately 20% of our total premiums and administrative services fees in 2003. Under one federal government contract with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, we provide health insurance coverage to approximately 229,100 Medicare+Choice members in Florida, accounting for approximately 15% of our total premiums and administrative services fees in 2003.
We were organized as a Delaware corporation in 1964. Our principal executive offices are located at 500 West Main Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, and the telephone number at that address is (502) 580-1000. We file annual, quarterly, and current reports, proxy statements, and other documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act.
We have made available free of charge on or through our Internet web site (http://www.humana.com) our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Proxy Statements, and all of our other reports, and, if applicable, amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Also available on our Internet web site is information about our Board of Directors, including a determination of independence for each member, the various committees of our Board of Directors, the charters of these committees, the name(s) of the Directors designated as a financial expert under Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933, the process for designating a lead director to act at executive sessions of the non-management Directors, the pre-approval process of non-audit services, the process by which stockholders can communicate with Directors, the process by which stockholders can make Director nominations, the Companys Corporate Governance guidelines, the Humana Principles of Business Ethics, and the Code of Ethics for the Chief Executive Officer and Senior Financial Officers. Any waivers or amendments for Directors or Executive Officers to the Principles of Business Ethics and the Code of Ethics for the Chief Executive Officer and Senior Financial Officers will be promptly displayed on our web site. The Company will provide any of these documents in print without charge to any stockholder who makes a written request to: Joan O. Lenahan, Corporate Secretary, Humana Inc., 500 West Main Street, 27th Floor, Louisville, Kentucky 40202. Additional information about these items can be found in, and is incorporated by reference to, the Companys Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders scheduled to be held on April 22, 2004.
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains both historical and forward-looking information. See the Cautionary Statements section in Item 7Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for a description of a number of factors that could adversely affect our results.
Business Segments
We manage our business with two segments: Commercial and Government. The Commercial segment consists of members enrolled in products marketed to employer groups and individuals, and includes three lines
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of business: fully insured medical, administrative services only, or ASO, and specialty. The Government segment consists of members enrolled in government-sponsored programs, and includes three lines of business: Medicare+Choice, Medicaid, and TRICARE. We identified our segments in accordance with the aggregation provisions of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 131, Disclosures About Segments of an Enterprise and Related Information which is consistent with information used by our Chief Executive Officer in managing our business. The segment information aggregates products with similar economic characteristics. These characteristics include the nature of customer groups, pricing, benefits, and underwriting requirements.
The results of each segment are measured by income before income taxes. We allocate all selling, general and administrative expenses, investment and other income, interest expense, and goodwill, but no other assets or liabilities, to our segments. Members served by our two segments generally utilize the same medical provider networks, enabling us to obtain more favorable contract terms with providers. Our segments also share overhead costs and assets. As a result, the profitability of each segment is interdependent.
Strategy
Our business strategy centers on increasing Commercial segment profitability while building on our existing strength in the Government segment and exploring opportunities under the recently enacted Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, or DIMA. Our strategy to increase Commercial segment profitability focuses on providing solutions for employers to the rising cost of health care through the use of innovative and consumer-choice product designs which are supported by service excellence and industry-leading electronic capabilities, including education, tools, and technologies provided primarily through the Internet. The intent of our Commercial segment strategy is to enable us to further penetrate high potential commercial markets and to transform the traditional experience for both employers and members in order to achieve a high degree of consumer satisfaction and loyalty.
Our Products
The following table presents our segment membership, premiums and ASO fees by product for the year ended December 31, 2003:
| Medical Membership |
Specialty Membership |
Premiums |
ASO Fees |
Total Premiums and ASO Fees |
Percent of Total Premiums and ASO Fees |
|||||||||||
| Commercial: |
||||||||||||||||
| Fully insured: |
||||||||||||||||
| HMO |
1,028,900 | | $ | 2,871,697 | $ | | $ | 2,871,697 | 23.7 | % | ||||||
| PPO |
1,323,900 | | 3,369,109 | | 3,369,109 | 27.9 | % | |||||||||
| Total fully insured |
2,352,800 | | 6,240,806 | | 6,240,806 | 51.6 | % | |||||||||
| Administrative services only |
712,400 | | | 122,846 | 122,846 | 1.0 | % | |||||||||
| Specialty |
| 1,668,100 | 320,206 | | 320,206 | 2.7 | % | |||||||||
| Total Commercial |
3,065,200 | 1,668,100 | 6,561,012 | 122,846 | 6,683,858 | 55.3 | % | |||||||||
| Government: |
||||||||||||||||
| Medicare+Choice |
328,600 | | 2,527,446 | | 2,527,446 | 20.9 | % | |||||||||
| Medicaid |
468,900 | | 487,100 | | 487,100 | 4.0 | % | |||||||||
| TRICARE |
1,849,700 | | 2,249,725 | | 2,249,725 | 18.6 | % | |||||||||
| TRICARE ASO |
1,057,200 | | | 148,830 | 148,830 | 1.2 | % | |||||||||
| Total Government |
3,704,400 | | 5,264,271 | 148,830 | 5,413,101 | 44.7 | % | |||||||||
| Total |
6,769,600 | 1,668,100 | $ | 11,825,283 | $ | 271,676 | $ | 12,096,959 | 100.0 | % | ||||||
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Our Products Marketed to Commercial Segment Employers and Members
New Generation of Products
We have developed a range of innovative products, styled as Smart products, that we believe will be a solution for employers who annually are facing double-digit premium increases driven by medical cost inflation. Our new generation of products provide more (1), choices for the individual consumer, (2), transparency of provider costs, and (3), benefit designs that engage consumers in the costs and effectiveness of health care choices. Innovative tools and technology are available to assist consumers with these decisions, including the trade-offs between higher premiums and point-of-service costs at the time consumers choose their plans, and to suggest ways in which the consumers can maximize their individual benefits at the point they use their plans. These products are sold to employers with Humana as the sole carrier, but are available on either a fully insured or self-funded basis. As of December 31, 2003, we had enrolled approximately 130,000 members into our Smart products.
Many of our Smart products, as well as our more traditional products, are offered to employer groups as bundles, where the subscribers are offered various HMO and PPO options, with various employer contribution strategies as determined by the customer.
HMO
Our health maintenance organization, or HMO, products provide prepaid health insurance coverage to our members through a network of independent primary care physicians, specialty physicians, and other health care providers who contract with the HMO to furnish such services. Primary care physicians generally include internists, family practitioners, and pediatricians. Generally, the members primary care physician must approve access to certain specialty physicians and other health care providers. These other health care providers include, among others, hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, pharmacies, mental health and substance abuse centers, diagnostic centers, optometrists, outpatient surgery centers, dentists, urgent care centers, and durable medical equipment suppliers. Because the primary care physician generally must approve access to many of these other health care providers, the HMO product is considered the most restrictive form of managed care.
An HMO member, typically through the members employer, pays a monthly fee, which generally covers, with some copayments, health care services received from or approved by the members primary care physician. For the year ended December 31, 2003, commercial HMO premium revenues totaled approximately $2.9 billion, or 23.7% of our total premiums and ASO fees.
PPO
Our preferred provider organization, or PPO, products, which are marketed primarily to commercial groups and individuals, include some elements of managed health care. However, they typically include more cost-sharing with the member, through copayments and annual deductibles. PPOs also are similar to traditional health insurance because they provide a member with more freedom to choose a physician or other health care provider. In a PPO, the member is encouraged, through financial incentives, to use participating health care providers, which have contracted with the PPO to provide services at favorable rates. In the event a member chooses not to use a participating health care provider, the member may be required to pay a greater portion of the providers fees.
In June 2002, we introduced HumanaOne, a major medical product marketed directly to individuals. We introduced this product in select markets where we can utilize our existing networks and distribution channels.
For the year ended December 31, 2003, commercial and individual PPO premium revenues totaled approximately $3.4 billion, or 27.9% of our total premiums and ASO fees.
5
Administrative Services Only
We offer an administrative services only, or ASO, product to those who self-insure their employee health plans. We receive fees to provide administrative services which generally include the processing of claims, offering access to our provider networks and clinical programs, and responding to customer service inquiries from members of self-funded employers. These products may include all of the same benefit and product design characteristics of our fully insured PPO and HMO products described above, however, under ASO contracts, self-funded employers retain the risk of financing the cost of health benefits. For the year ended December 31, 2003, commercial ASO fees totaled $122.8 million, or 1.0% of our total premiums and ASO fees.
Specialty Products
We also offer various specialty products including dental, group life, and short-term disability. At December 31, 2003, we had approximately 1.7 million specialty members. For the year ended December 31, 2003, specialty product premium revenues were approximately $320.2 million, or 2.7% of our total premiums and ASO fees.
Our Products Marketed to Government Segment Members and Beneficiaries
Medicare+Choice Product
Medicare is a federal program that provides persons age 65 and over and some disabled persons certain hospital and medical insurance benefits, which include hospitalization benefits for up to 90 days per incident of illness plus a lifetime reserve aggregating 60 days. Each Medicare-eligible individual is entitled to receive inpatient hospital care, known as Part A care, without the payment of any premium, but is required to pay a premium to the federal government, which is adjusted annually, to be eligible for physician care and other services, known as Part B care.
We contract with CMS under the Medicare+Choice program to provide health insurance coverage in exchange for a fixed monthly payment per member for Medicare-eligible individuals residing in the geographic areas in which our HMOs operate. Individuals who elect to participate in Medicare+Choice programs receive additional benefits not covered by Medicare and are relieved of the obligation to pay some or all of the deductible or coinsurance amounts but are generally required to use exclusively the services provided by the HMO (subject to nominal copayments and coinsurance) and are required to pay a Part B premium to the Medicare program.
The Medicare+Choice product involves a contract between an HMO and CMS, pursuant to which CMS makes a fixed monthly payment to the HMO on behalf of each Medicare-eligible individual that chooses to enroll for coverage in the HMO. The fixed monthly payment, payable on the first day of a month, is determined by formula established by federal law. We sometimes receive the fixed monthly payment early due to a weekend or holiday falling on the first day of a month. Since this amount is significant, the timing of its receipt can cause a material fluctuation in our operating cash flows from period to period. We also collect additional member premiums from our members in most of our markets.
At December 31, 2003, we provided health insurance coverage under CMS contracts to approximately 328,600 Medicare+Choice members for which we received premium revenues of approximately $2.5 billion, or 20.9% of our total premiums and ASO fees for 2003. One such CMS contract covered approximately 229,100 members in Florida and accounted for premium revenues of approximately $1.8 billion, which represented 70.5% of our Medicare+Choice premium revenues, or 14.7% of our total premiums and ASO fees for 2003.
Our Medicare+Choice contracts with the federal government are renewed for a one-year term each December 31 unless terminated 90 days prior thereto. Annual increases in per member premiums from CMS have ranged from as low as approximately 2% to as high as approximately 10%, with an average of
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approximately 5% for the five-year period beginning January 1, 2000. Over the last several years, our Medicare+Choice membership has declined as we exited some counties. These exits were a result, in part, of lower CMS reimbursement rates.
In December 2003, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, or DIMA was signed into law. The legislation establishes a new Medicare private health plan program, called MedicareAdvantage, continuing the health plan options afforded under the former Medicare+Choice program while adding additional health plan options, including regional PPO options beginning in 2006. DIMA includes provisions that require the 2004 stabilization funding to be directed toward increased reimbursement for providers, increased benefits or access for members, or decreased member premiums. Including DIMA funding and changes in member premiums, we expect an 8% to 10% increase in total per member premiums in 2004 with a corresponding increase in medical costs due to increased reimbursements for providers and increased benefits for members.
Medicaid Product
Medicaid is a federal program that is state-operated to facilitate the delivery of health care services to low-income residents. Each electing state develops, through a state specific regulatory agency, a Medicaid managed care initiative that must be approved by CMS. CMS requires that Medicaid managed care plans meet federal standards and cost no more than the amount that would have been spent on a comparable fee-for-service basis. States currently either use a formal proposal process in which they review many bidders before selecting one or award individual contracts to qualified bidders who apply for entry to the program. In either case, the contractual relationship with a state generally is for a one-year period. Under these contracts, we receive a fixed monthly payment from a government agency for which we are required to provide health insurance coverage to enrolled members. Due to the increased emphasis on state health care reform and budgetary constraints, more states are utilizing a managed care product in their Medicaid programs.
We currently have Medicaid contracts with the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration through June 30, 2005, subject to each party agreeing upon annual rates. In July 2003, we signed amendments to the Puerto Rico Medicaid contracts regarding a premium rate increase for the annual period ending June 30, 2004. Our other Medicaid contracts are in Florida and Illinois, and are annual contracts. For the year ended December 31, 2003, premium revenues from our Medicaid products totaled $487.1 million, or 4.0% of our total premiums and ASO fees. At December 31, 2003, we had approximately 394,800 Medicaid members in Puerto Rico, or 84% of total Medicaid members, and 74,100 Medicaid members in Florida and Illinois, or 16% of total Medicaid members.
TRICARE
TRICARE provides health insurance coverage to the dependents of active duty military personnel and to retired military personnel and their dependents. In November 1995, the United States Department of Defense awarded us our first TRICARE contract for Regions 3 and 4 covering approximately 1.1 million eligible beneficiaries in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Eastern Louisiana. On July 1, 1996, we began providing health insurance coverage to these approximately 1.1 million eligible beneficiaries.
On May 31, 2001, we purchased the entity responsible for administering TRICARE benefits for Regions 2 and 5 to approximately 1.2 million eligible beneficiaries in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia and a portion of Missouri.
Our current TRICARE contract with the Department of Defense will be in effect until April 30, 2004 for Regions 2 and 5 and until June 30, 2004 for Regions 3 and 4. Each of the contracts is subject to a one-year renewal at the Governments option. We believe these contracts will continue until the TRICARE transition described below.
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On August 21, 2003, the Department of Defense notified us that we were awarded the contract for the South Region, one of three newly-created regions under the governments revised TRICARE Program. The current TRICARE Regions 3 and 4 will become part of the new South Region along with Region 6, which is currently administered by another contractor. The current Regions 2 and 5 will become part of the North Region, which was awarded to another contractor.
Pursuant to the Department of Defenses bid process, each of the three awards was subject to protests by unsuccessful bidders of prime contracts, however, none of the protests were successful.
Under the Department of Defenses current schedule for implementation of the new TRICARE contracts, Regions 2 and 5 will transition to the new North Region for the start of healthcare delivery on July 1, 2004. Regions 3 and 4 will become part of the new South Region for the start of healthcare delivery on August 1, 2004 and Region 6 will become part of our new South Region for the start of healthcare delivery on November 1, 2004. If this schedule is realized, our TRICARE membership is expected to temporarily decline to 1.5 million in July 2004, and is expected to increase to 2.8 million in November 2004. This will also result in a decline in revenues during this period.
In addition, retail pharmacy benefits for TRICARE beneficiaries will be administered separately under the new Department of Defense TRICARE Retail Pharmacy Program. On September 26, 2003, we were notified that we were not awarded the retail pharmacy contract and, later, that our protest of this award decision was not upheld.
Currently, three health benefit options are available to TRICARE beneficiaries. In addition to a traditional indemnity option, participants may enroll in an HMO-like plan with a point-of-service option or take advantage of reduced copayments by using a network of preferred providers. We have subcontracted with third parties to provide various administration and specialty services under the contracts. For the year ended December 31, 2003, TRICARE premium revenues were approximately $2.2 billion, or 18.6% of our total premiums and ASO fees.
At December 31, 2003, we had 1,057,200 TRICARE ASO beneficiaries for which the Department of Defense retains the risk of financing the cost of their health benefits. We obtained these beneficiaries from our acquisition of Regions 2 and 5, and by enrollment in two government programs that allow senior beneficiaries to continue in the TRICARE program even after becoming Medicare eligible, which normally is age 65. The first of these programs, called TRICARE Senior Pharmacy, became effective April 1, 2001. Under this government administrative services program, senior TRICARE beneficiaries receive certain pharmacy benefits not covered under Medicare. On October 1, 2001, the TRICARE for Life program expanded coverage to include medical benefits as well. For the year ended December 31, 2003, TRICARE administrative services fees totaled $148.8 million, or 1.2% of our total premiums and ASO fees. Once the Department of Defenses new contracting structure is implemented, our responsibility for both of these programs will cease. The TRICARE Senior Pharmacy program is intended to become part of the previously mentioned TRICARE Retail Pharmacy Program. The TRICARE for Life program will become the TRICARE Dual-Eligible Fiscal Intermediary Contract (TDEFIC). The TDEFIC contract, for which we did not bid, was awarded to another contractor on July 25, 2003. It will become effective when the current regional contracts expire.
We do not believe that these TRICARE contract changes occurring during 2004 will have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.
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The following table summarizes our total medical membership at December 31, 2003, by market and product:
| Commercial |
Government |
Percent |
|||||||||||||||
| HMO |
PPO |
ASO |
Medicare+ Choice |
Medicaid |
TRICARE |
Total |
|||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||
| Florida |
179.5 | 83.8 | 20.1 | 229.1 | 55.3 | 429.4 | 997.2 | 14.7 | % | ||||||||
| Illinois |
257.4 | 214.0 | 82.9 | 40.2 | 18.8 | 74.7 | 688.0 | 10.2 | |||||||||
| Texas |
205.7 | 324.2 | 41.6 | 21.3 | | | 592.8 | 8.8 | |||||||||
| Puerto Rico |
17.1 | 67.4 | 11.1 | | 394.8 | | 490.4 | 7.2 | |||||||||
| Ohio |
157.6 | 61.9 | 136.3 | | | 73.0 | 428.8 | 6.3 | |||||||||
| Kentucky |
34.5 | 202.6 | 116.7 | | | 67.7 | 421.5 | 6.2 | |||||||||
| Wisconsin |
83.7 | 51.9 | 182.9 | 2.6 | | 32.2 | 353.3 | 5.2 | |||||||||
| Georgia |
17.4 | 34.6 | 1.8 | | | 277.0 | 330.8 | 4.9 | |||||||||
| Virginia |
| 1.2 | | | | 187.8 | 189.0 | 2.8 | |||||||||
| North Carolina |
| 12.4 | 2.6 | | | 152.1 | 167.1 | 2.5 | |||||||||
| Arizona |
34.3 | 66.6 | 41.0 | 15.5 | | | 157.4 | 2.3 | |||||||||
| South Carolina |
| 3.8 | 0.6 | | | 133.7 | 138.1 | 2.0 | |||||||||
| Tennessee |
| 35.8 | 13.1 | | | 82.1 | 131.0 | 1.9 | |||||||||
| Michigan |
| 47.4 | 2.6 | | | 60.2 | 110.2 | 1.6 | |||||||||
| Alabama |
| | 0.2 | | | 105.8 | 106.0 | 1.6 | |||||||||
| Indiana |
0.9 | 36.7 | 20.1 | | | 44.8 | 102.5 | 1.5 | |||||||||
| Missouri/Kansas |
40.8 | 22.2 | 5.4 | 18.3 | | 5.0 | 91.7 | 1.4 | |||||||||
| Mississippi |
| 2.9 | 0.3 | | | 75.4 | 78.6 | 1.2 | |||||||||
| Colorado |
| 41.5 | | | | | 41.5 | 0.6 | |||||||||
| TRICARE ASO |
| | | | | 1,057.2 | 1,057.2 | 15.6 | |||||||||
| Others |
| 13.0 | 33.1 | 1.6 | | 48.8 | 96.5 | 1.5 | |||||||||
| Totals |
1,028.9 | 1,323.9 | 712.4 | 328.6 | 468.9 | 2,906.9 | 6,769.6 | 100.0 | % | ||||||||
Provider Arrangements
We provide our members with access to health care services through our networks of health care providers with whom we have contracted, including hospitals and other independent facilities such as outpatient surgery centers, primary care physicians, specialist physicians, dentists and providers of ancillary health care services and facilities. We have approximately 463,300 contracts with health care providers participating in our networks, which consist of approximately 294,400 physicians, 3,300 hospitals, and 165,600 ancillary providers and dentists. These ancillary services and facilities include ambulance services, medical equipment services, home health agencies, mental health providers, rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes, optical services, and pharmacies. Our membership base and the ability to influence where our members seek care generally enable us to obtain contractual discounts with providers.
We use a variety of techniques to provide access to effective and efficient use of health care services for our members. These techniques include the coordination of care for our members, product and benefit designs, hospital inpatient management systems, or HIMS, and enrolling members into various disease management programs. The focal point for health care services in many of our Medicare+Choice and HMO networks is the primary care physician who, under contract, provides services, and may control utilization of appropriate services, by directing or approving hospitalization and referrals to specialists and other providers. Some physicians may have arrangements under which they can earn bonuses when certain target goals relating to the provisions of quality patient care are met. Our HIMS programs use specially-trained physicians to effectively manage the entire range of an HMO members medical care during a hospital admission and to effectively coordinate the members discharge and post-discharge care. We have available a variety of disease management programs related to specific medical conditions such as congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, prenatal
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and premature infant care, asthma related illness, end stage renal disease, diabetes, and breast cancer screening. We also may focus on certain rare conditions where disease management techniques benefit members in a more cost effective manner.
We typically contract with hospitals on either a per diem rate, which is an all-inclusive rate per day, a case rate, which is an all-inclusive rate per admission, or at a discounted charge for inpatient hospital services. Outpatient hospital services generally are contracted at a flat rate by type of service or at a discounted charge. These contracts are often multi-year agreements, with rates that are adjusted for inflation annually based on the consumer price index or other nationally recognized inflation index. Outpatient surgery centers and other ancillary providers typically are contracted at flat rates per service provided or are reimbursed based upon a nationally-recognized fee schedule such as the Medicare allowable fee schedule.
Our contracts with physicians typically are automatically renewed each year, unless either party gives written notice to the other party of their intent to terminate the arrangement. Most of the physicians in our PPO networks and some of our physicians in our HMO networks are reimbursed based upon a fixed fee schedule, which typically provides for reimbursement based upon a percentage of the standard Medicare allowable fee schedule.
Capitation
For 7.1% of our December 31, 2003 medical membership, we contract with hospitals and physicians to accept financial risk for a defined set of HMO membership. In transferring this risk, we prepay these providers a monthly fixed-fee per member, known as a capitation payment, to coordinate substant