By Ava Simone Collier

Carmalitha L. Gumbs is the Marketing Support Sales Specialist for Humana MarketPOINT, an agency of Humana, Inc. in Atlanta, GA. MarketPOINT is a distribution channel of Humana which offers services directly from business to the consumer. In her current role, she is responsible for all the local marketing efforts to support the sales team. Carmalitha explained that it is Humana’s objective to build relationships within the community “It takes a lot of networking and business development to do this. We want people in the community to identify and recognize us so they can understand what we do,” says Carmalitha.

Although Humana is well known as a healthcare insurance company, Carmalitha explained that Humana is now refocused on community outreach. Humana has always been synonymous with private health insurance often offered through commercial businesses, large and small. She explained that the company started off with nursing homes and eventually got into the insurance arena. “Our business motto is changing. We definitely focus on health insurance but are now moving to financial products.” She explained that Humana is still focused on health but now offers other products to help give the community a comprehensive portfolio. “We want to bring the message to the community that we can also help with everyday needs in life, such as financial planning in the event of an illness involving yourself or a loved one or if you have lost your job and have no coverage. We can help you prepare for the future.”

Humana’s new focus can also be beneficial for parents who may not have or even thought about health and life insurance for their children. “We provide guidance, not pressure selling. We want to let people know what resources are available to them,” says Carmalitha. Humana is becoming very visible at community events and also offer home consultations. Although Humana is still in the business of offering commercial insurance to small businesses in the community, individuals can also purchase private health insurance called HumanaOne. They offer competitive rates to people 65 and under. “We used to be very focused on Medicare where we did a lot of business with seniors in the market. With the new healthcare reform we have to change our strategy. We also focus on overall products that will enhance their lives such as life insurance for adults and children, dental and vision plans and annuities. Before, we only focused on healthcare and these other services were not previously available as much.”

Carmalitha says that although she loves her job and all that it entails, there are still challenges regarding ever changing governmental Medicare guidelines and healthcare reforms. Although up for the challenge, she states that Humana looks forward to getting specific guideline directives in the future to better serve the community. “I think that would make life easier; Things change daily. The reality is that it’s not that way now so we do the best we can. Our whole goal is to bring the message out to the community and let them know we are here and to see everyone covered with health insurance.”

To find out more about Humana and their services, visit http://www.humana.com