Humana Expands CenterHell

 

Strange Tony,

Humana converted Kindred at Home home health operations in fourteen states to its new brand CenterWell.  I call it CenterHell, a characterization reinforced by recent online employee reviews.

Those locations will get new signage and marketing materials as well as employee uniforms. apparel and other branded materials.

That brings back our original hospice conversion under Humana, TPG and WCAS.  Executives promised no changes, only to turn around and layoff key employees, cut the number of holidays as well as holiday pay and implement unreliable technology that purposely underpaid staff for hours worked and miles driven.

We got new signs and branded apparel but no raises.  I'll venture this conversion is similar.  Humana executives will get king's ransom bonuses for making it nearly impossible to deliver quality home healthcare.  Numbers matter to those at the top.

Anonymous

CDR to Buy Baby Formula Maker, Kindred Hospice

Strange Tony,

There's more information about our new hospice owners.  CDR is buying the baby formula division of Reckitt Benckiser.  Big's Matt Stoller writes:

Clayton Dubilier & Rice is one of the original gangsters of private equity, founded in 1978. It had classic pedigree; Jack Welch was an advisor. The firm is perhaps best known for shipping respiratory equipment out of the U.S. in the early days of the Covid pandemic, as well as the standard stripping of assets from companies it buys, and then letting them go bankrupt. So one can expect Clayton Dubilier & Rice, if it buys Mead Johnson, to attempt to raise prices on formula, or cut corners."

CDR can't raise prices on hospice so Kindred Hospice employees can expect more corner cutting.  As if Humana, TPG and WCAS didn't already expose our poor hospice's bones.  Lord, save us from financial rapscallions as they deliver evil.

Anonymous

Another Greedy, Tampering Owner for Kindred Hospice

Strange Tony,

Financial rapscallions TPG Capital and WCAS (Welsh, Carson, Anderson and Stowe) did not value employees at our hospice site after they took a majority ownership stake in July 2018.  Humana became the operating partner with 40% ownership.  Together they devalued our hospice employees.  It took a year for them to drive away experienced, talented, dedicated and caring hospice workers by implementing Curo Healthcare's sparse staffing models and complex, unreliable technology. 

Humana never equalized Kindred at Home benefits, even after buying out the rest of KAH from TPG and WCAS in August 2021.  They did improve the retirement match but it remains half of Humana's employee match.

The next round of abuse will come when Humana officially offloads the portion it just acquired to yet a different financial rapscallion, Clayton, Dubilier and Rice.  Consider what some CDR employees said on Glassdoor.

Management plays politics, associates + principles always look down at you, No rules for HR lady but all rules apply to all staff, partners expectations are ridiculous.  Fix up, stop playing political games, appreciate your staff 

Hostile environment within the administration team. Lack of professionalism and very much a cult like working environment. HR - a complete mess No new starters stay at this company...  Bad management.

They did not value the employees of the organization they acquired.  It's not all about money, people/employees matter.

CDR will continue President David Causby's "value add" to executive wallets and personal wealth accounts.  How does a hospice organization become an enrichment vehicle for greedy leaders and financial rapscallions?  The Senate Finance Committee is supposedly asking this question.  I'm afraid the answer will not come in time to save what is left of our once great hospice.

Anonymous 

Kindred Hospice's CDR Bids for Infant Formula

Strange Tony,

Financial rapscallion Clayton, Dubilier and Rice wants to buy a baby formula maker after winning 60% of Kindred Hospice/Community Care.  Greed from birth to death, it's the financial rapscallion way.

Anonymous

Humana Finally Reveals KAH Revenues

Strange Tony,

Humana has reported minimal information about Kindred at Home's finances since it became the 100% owner of the company in August 2021.  Today's Q1 earnings report had top line revenue of $726 million for KAH but not much more.   Assuming steady business throughout the year KAH would come in under $3 billion in revenue, i.e. less than when it acquired the company in July 2018.  Hospice has some seasonality so the number could come in over $3 billion.

Hospice had higher margins than Home Health when Humana closed last summer on the 40% it did not own.  Another sale of the hospice division to financial rapscallions should enrich CEO David Causby yet again.  He's on his __nth king's ransom?

Some may recall Causby's butchering of the Harden Healthcare integration (during the Gentiva days).  He combined Kindred Hospice with Curo Healthcare by keeping the brand salad and putting larger hospices under Curo's crappy technology and miserly staffing models.  

Anyone who remembers the torture TPG Capital, WCAS and Humana put our hospice through must be dreading Clayton, Dubilier and Rice.  

There has been no word on David Causby's response to the Senate Finance Committee's request for information on private equity ownership of hospice companies.  

I'd love to read a report before our hospice gets sold down the river yet again.

Anonymous

CDR Due Diligence on Kindred/Curo Hospice

Strange Tony,

Financial rapscallion Clayton, Dubilier and Rice conducted due diligence on Kindred Hospice and Community Care before agreeing to buy 60% from Humana for $2.8 billion in cash.  

Did they find the June 1, 2021 False Claim lawsuit against Kindred/Curo Hospice CEO Larry Graham before inking the deal? 

Thus, by knowingly submitting false claims or causing the submission of false claims, and knowingly concealing or knowingly and improperly avoiding Avalon’s obligations to repay overpayments, for hospice services provided to Medicare and TennCare beneficiaries in Tennessee who were not terminally ill from at least January 1, 2010 through February 20, 2020, Defendants are liable under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729, et seq. (the “FCA”), the Tennessee Medicaid False Claims Act, Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 71-5-182 to -185 (the “TMFCA”), and common law theories of payment by mistake and unjust enrichment.

The lawsuit misses Kindred at Home's ownership of Curo, as well as Humana and its financial rapscallion partners (TPG Capital and WCAS) packaging the two companies in a summer 2018 buyout.

Humana was the operating partner of Kindred at Home from July 2018 through February 2020 and responsible for any fraudulent claims made to Medicare/Medicaid.

In approximately late 2018 or early 2019, at least two former Avalon nurses repeatedly raised concerns regarding ineligible patients to Avalon and Curo managers, including the Avalon Johnson City DOO, medical director, and the lead nurse, as well as the Curo Area Vice President of Operations, about patients who were not eligible for hospice. When these nurses informed the DOO that certain referred patients were ineligible, the DOO responded that “corporate” was requiring that the patients be admitted.

Similarly, in early 2020, Avalon Nashville terminated a former nurse after she repeatedly informed the current Nashville DOO that referrals or patients were not eligible for hospice, including numerous patients who were residents at Hillcrest Healthcare Center, a skilled nursing facility in Ashland City. For example, one Hillcrest patient who the nurse did not think was hospice appropriate informed the nurse that Hillcrest had told her the only way she could continue to stay at the facility was to elect hospice. When this former nurse did not believe a referred patient was eligible, the Nashville DOO sent a different nurse to evaluate the patient.

Humana pushed the Curo Health model on Kindred Hospice sites in 2019.  That's how Larry Graham became Hospice CEO.  It's not clear how much Graham profited from the multiple sales of Curo/Kindred at Home in 2018 through today?  How much more will he make when CDR acquires their controlling interest?  The public will likely never know.

Anonymous

Anonymous

Kindred Hospice Goes to Clayton, Dubilier and Rice

Strange Tony,

The winning financial rapscallion for a 60% stake of Kindred Hospice/Community Care is Clayton, Dubilier and Rice (CDR).  Humana will get $2.8 billion in the deal.  The press release said the whole deal was valued at $3.4 billion.  That makes no sense.  

A 60% stake for $2.8 billion translates to a $4.67 billion valuation for the whole company.  The difference between $4.67 billion and $3.4 billion is likely debt, which has to be refinanced at today's higher interest rates.  

Humana paid 11.5 times EBITDA for the rest of Kindred at Home in August 2021.  That deal valued the company at $8.1 billion.  Historically hospice has accounted for roughly half the revenue and half of the company's EBITDA.  

Humana is selling the hospice and community care divisions for a 12x adjusted EBITDA figure.  That means Humana will make money on the sale.  What's a few millions amongst greedy executives.

Not taking Kindred Hospice public means President David Causby's series of king's ransom paydays remain a secret.  CDR is excited to partner with Causby and the executive team.  

The rest of Kindred Hospice is an expense to be controlled.  Executive pay is allowed to soar.  Your's is not.  More pain lies ahead.  

Anonymous