Humana-Mays Healthcare Analytics Case Competition
Healthcare Analytics Case Competition
Mays Business School is partnering with Humana to sponsor the 8th annual Humana-Mays Healthcare Analytics Case Competition. This offers an opportunity for teams of U.S. master’s students to showcase analytical skills while solving real-world business problems for Humana. Participants will dive into intricate real-world scenarios, navigating through large amounts of complex data. Success in this competition demands not only technical proficiency for data analysis but also communication skills to effectively convey insights, implications, and recommendations to non-technical audiences.
Case Competition Overview
Event: 2024 8th Annual Humana-Mays Healthcare Analytics Case Competition
Process: Apply using the “Apply” Button Above *Sign-ups open on August 1st
Eligibility: Students Enrolled in a qualifying U.S. master’s program and residing within the United States are eligible to enter. Humana employees may not participate.
Calendar:
- Competition: September – November 2024
- Informational Call: Held September 18, 2024 – 4:00 PM CST
- Team Registration: August 1 to September 27, 2024
- Finals: November 14, 2024
Prizes: 1st ($50k) | 2nd ($20k) | 3rd ($10k) | 4th ($5k) | 5th ($5k)
Location: Virtual Competition
For general information, please email humanacasecomp@tamu.edu
Participants get to build a team and compete against a talented pool of master students residing in the United States for a total cash pot of $90k to be distributed among the top 5 teams as mentioned above.
Official Rules
Students enrolled and taking classes part-time or full-time in an accredited Master of Science, Master of Arts, Master of Information Systems, Master of Public Health, Master of Business Administration program, or other similar master’s programs that educate students in business, health care, or analytics at an educational institution based in the United States are eligible to enter.
Students must be currently enrolled and taking classes and must not have graduated from the qualifying program at the time of the final round of case competition presentations.
In addition, students must also be physically located in the US from the date of team registration to the final presentations, excluding personal short-term travel of fewer than two (2) weeks. Employees of Humana Inc. are not eligible to participate.
Teams must be made up of two to four (2-4) participants from the same school. Although multiple teams from the same school may enter the competition, a student may not be on more than one team. If a participant is unable to, or chooses not to, complete the competition, a substitution is permitted only if the data set has not yet been released to the teams. If the team falls below the two-person minimum due to a member leaving, the team is no longer eligible to compete. For teams to be eligible, teams must submit each team member’s name, student email address, and telephone number. Each team member must sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), and these must be uploaded to the website by the registration deadline listed in the timeline. By registering the team agrees to adhere to all rules laid forth by the Sponsor and Organizer of this competition.
The case competition business topic is designed to be ambiguous; such that it mimics real-world business problems, not thoroughly defined. Students are encouraged to do their own research to educate themselves about healthcare, in general, the specific topic of interest, etc. However, coaching and mentoring from outside sources, other than your registered teammates, is not allowed. These outside sources include but are not limited to, university faculty, university teaching assistants, university staff, students not on your team, or other professional consultants in related fields. By way of illustration only and without limitation, coaching and mentoring from outside sources could include providing direction to resources, providing direct feedback on submissions or presentation content, and discussing substantive issues or subject matter. Examples of what may not be considered coaching/mentoring could include helping teams monitor deadlines, ensuring that each team member is contributing to the work product, and generally promoting the competition to students to participate. By registering for the Humana-Mays Case Competition, each team acknowledges that they will participate with academic honesty and intellectual integrity. Failure to do so will result in the entire team’s disqualification.
August 1, 2024 Informational Call Registration Opens
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- Join the kick-off call to find out more details about this year’s competition: business issues, data overview, key dates, etc.
- September 18, 2024 Virtual Informational Call – 4:00 p.m. CT
- Informational call will be recorded and posted within 3 business days on the competition website
August 1 – September 27, 2024 Team Registration Open
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- To be verified, ALL team members must be registered and have signed Non-Disclosure Agreements submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. CT on September 27th.
- Competition data will be distributed to registered and verified teams starting after the 9/18 Informational Call and ending after the registration deadline of 9/27. (Typically, data will be available no more than 48 hours after registration & verification)
October 1, 2024 Virtual Q&A Workshop – 4:00 p.m. CT
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- Question and Answer session with Humana data specialists.
- Workshop will be recorded and posted within 3 business days on the competition website
September 30 – October 4, 2024 || October 7 – October 10, 2024
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- Leaderboard – Holdout files are electronically submitted via the competition website. Files submitted by 11:00 a.m. CT will be processed, and results posted no later than 7:00 p.m. CT of the same day. 1 submission per team, per day.
October 11, 2024 Round One Final Submission Deadline
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- Files are due by 5:00 p.m. CT and the top 50 teams progressing to Round Two will be posted no later than 11:59 p.m CT
October 20, 2024 Round Two Submission Deadline
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- Electronically submitted by 11:59 p.m. CT via submission button on the competition website.
November 1, 2024 Top 5 Finalists advancing to Finals
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- Announced via the competition website at 7:00 p.m. CT
November 6, 2024 Presenters Availability Verification
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- Presenters must verify their availability to participate virtually (see Round Three requirements below).
November 12, 2024 Finals Presentation Overview Meeting
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- Time will be announced once finalists have been announced.
November 13, 2024 Final Presentation Submission Deadline
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- Electronically submitted by 5:00 p.m. CT via the submission button on the competition website
November 14, 2024 Finals Presentations
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- Opening Ceremony (details to be provided once presentation schedule has been determined)
November 14, 2024 Winners announced at Awards Presentation
December 15, 2024 Prizes awarded to winning teams (Approximate date)
Entries will be judged in three (3) rounds.
ROUND ONE
This round is a simple quantitative evaluation of a team’s solution based on its ability to accurately predict the specific business issue and provide a ‘fair’ (i.e., equal opportunity) solution.
- Submissions will be evaluated using a holdout file where the team provides a predicted score and comparing their predicted score to the known result, held by Humana.
- Accuracy will be measured using the observed ROC curve and AUC metric
- Fairness will be measured using the observed Disparity score based on RACE and SEX
- The top 50 solutions based on accuracy & fairness solutions will advance to Round Two. If there is a tie for the 50th spot, all teams tying for that position will advance. After the advancing teams are announced, no other teams will advance, even if one or more advancing teams drop out or are deemed ineligible.
- A mid-cycle leaderboard will be available to allow teams – prior to the submission deadline – to see how the performance metrics associated with their model stack up against other teams in the competition. Once the final submission date has passed; the highest performance metric for each team will be used to determine the Top 50 Teams advancing to Round 2 of the competition.
- Leaderboard benefits:
- Based on a team’s performance, they will have the opportunity to go back and continue to refine/hone their model until they are comfortable based on their relative placement.
- The leaderboard serves as an opportunity for teams to quality-check their validation file submission to ensure it meets the stated requirements.
- Participating teams are not required to participate in the leaderboard.
- Teams may submit multiple times to the leaderboard during the two weeks offered. However, teams may only submit one file each day.
- Leaderboard benefits:
- For the team’s final submission it must be in .csv with ID, Score, and Rank fields in the file.
ROUND TWO
Each team will submit a Word document establishing key performance indicators aligned to business needs, depth and description of quantitative analysis resulting in actionable business insights, and provide meaningful implications and recommendations based on results/insights.
- Multiple judges will review each of the submissions from Round Two, based on the entirety of the solution: approach, analytics, insights, recommendations, and actionability. Judging will be conducted by multiple subject matter experts made up of Data Science professionals from Humana and PhD candidates from Texas A&M.
- Each of the Top 50 Round Two submissions will be read and evaluated by a panel of five judges.
- The scores of judging panels will be analyzed and combined to create a composite score for each submission.
The rubric and weighting associated with each category are as follows:
- 20% – Establishing key performance indicators aligned to business needs
- 30% – Depth and description of quantitative analysis resulting in actionable business insights
- 50% – Ability to provide meaningful implications and recommendations based on results/insights
The five (5) teams with the highest composite scores in Round Two will be deemed finalists and move on to Round Three.
In the event of a tie in Round Two, the team with the highest score in the third category (“Ability to provide meaningful implications and recommendations based on results/insights”) will advance. If the teams are still tied, the team with the highest score awarded by Humana judges will advance. If the teams are still tied, the judges will select the team deemed to have submitted the better overall entry, and that team will advance.
If an advancing Round One team does not submit a Round Two submission by the due date and time they will be disqualified from the competition.
ROUND THREE
The final round of judging will build on previous rounds by demonstrating the solution’s ease of understanding, impact on the business, and viability with regard to implementation.
A panel of executives will listen to and evaluate the final presentations given by the finalists. The judges will evaluate each presentation using the following criteria:
- 10% – Clear understanding of the business challenge
- 30% – Summary of approach and resulting business insights
- 40% – So What? How will this solution help improve/impact the business?
- 20% – Presentation effectiveness: professionalism, clarity of message, visualizations, and ability to answer questions.
Following the final presentations, judges will score the entries, and will meet in private to discuss and debate their initial scores. The judges will convene until they agree upon the placement of the five (5) finalist teams based on their final scores. The team with the highest score will be the First-place winner; the team with the second-highest score will be the Second Place Winner; the team with the third-highest score will be the Third-place winner; the team with the fourth-highest score will be the Fourth Place Winner; and the team with the fifth highest score will be the Fifth Place Winner.
To be eligible for Round Three, at least one (1) member of a two-person team and at least two (2) members of a three- or four-person team must present virtually. If a potential finalist team fails to meet this requirement, the team will be disqualified unless the Sponsor determines that the failure is due to an unforeseen, documented, and excusable medical occurrence, in which case the team may proceed without the required number of in-person participants.
Additional information:
- Final presentations will be held virtually via Zoom Events.
- Each team may use up to 30 minutes to present and will need to allocate the time for presentation and Q&A at their own discretion.
- Students should wear business attire for presentations.
- Every student who is virtually present during the final presentations on a team must take an active role in the presentation.
- Teams should submit their final presentation to the Event organizers by 5 pm CT the evening prior to the final competition.
- 1st Place $50,000
- 2nd Place $20,000
- 3rd Place $10,000
- 4th Place $5,000
- 5th Place $5,000
Prizes will be awarded in the form of checks or electronic transfer, and the prize amounts will be divided evenly among team members; where it is not possible to divide the amount exactly equally for a four-person team, the team will instruct Sponsor as to which amounts will go to which team members. Should any finalist team be deemed ineligible or fail to complete the competition, the Fifth-Place prize award will be allocated proportionally to the other four winning teams.
- Sponsor/Organizer is not responsible for late, lost, misdirected, corrupted, mislabeled, or unintelligible entries, or incorrect contact information for any team member, in any round, including entries or notifications not received because of interrupted or unavailable network servers, failed communications networks or equipment, computer hardware or software, or other errors or malfunctions whether human, mechanical, or electronic.
- Any team suspected of tampering with or disrupting any aspect of the competition will be disqualified.
- All decisions of the Sponsor/Organizer are final.
Humana Inc., 500 West Main Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202.
Texas A&M University, Mays Business School, 6000 TAMU, College Station, Texas 77843.
FAQs
The FAQ page will provide answers to all questions throughout the competition. Initially, it will house frequently asked questions related to general competition, eligibility, and registration. However, as the competition progresses, we will post answers to all questions received by participants related to the competition (i.e. data, leaderboard, submission requirements, etc) for everyone to see. This area is updated on a regular basis so be sure to check be often once the competition has started.
How are Round One and Round Two different in terms of the analysis for the participants?
Round 1 submissions date is October 11, 2024.
Round 2 submissions date is October 20, 2024.
Round 1: This round is a simple quantitative evaluation of a team’s solution based on its ability to accurately predict the specific business issue and provide a ‘fair’ (i.e., equal opportunity) solution. Using the HOLDOUT file, an ROC/AUC metric will be calculated for each team to measure the accuracy of the prediction. Similarly, fairness will be measured using the observed Disparity score based on RACE and SEX. These measures will be combined for each submission and compared across all participants. The top 50 submissions from Round 1 will move on to Round 2.
Round 2:
Each team will submit a Word document establishing key performance indicators aligned to business needs, depth and description of quantitative analysis resulting in actionable business insights, and provide meaningful implications and recommendations based on results/insights.
- Multiple judges will review each of the submissions from Round Two, based on the entirety of the solution: approach, analytics, insights, recommendations, and actionability. Judging will be conducted by multiple subject matter experts made up of Data Science professionals from Humana and PhD candidates from Texas A&M.
- Each of the Top 50 Round Two submissions will be read and evaluated by a panel of five judges.
- The scores of judging panels will be analyzed and combined to create a composite score for each submission.
Also, refer to the “Fairness in AI Guide” to see more details on the judging criteria.
Once questions pertaining to the case are submitted, when can we expect to receive answers?
- Questions will be answered via email within two business days and commonly asked questions will be posted in the FAQ section as they are answered.
Can we get school credit for working on this case?
- Competitors may use their submissions for class-work after the final rounds are complete.
What are the terms for the individuals and teams to be eligible to compete?
For students to be eligible to compete in the Humana-Mays Healthcare Analytics Case Competition they must be:
- Enrolled and taking classes part-time or full-time in an accredited Master of Science, Master of Arts, Master of Information Systems, Master of Public Health, Master of Business Administration program, or other similar master’s programs that educate students in business, health care, or analytics at an educational institution based in the United States.
- Currently enrolled and taking classes and must not have graduated from the qualifying program at the time of the final round of the case competition presentations.
- Physically located in the US from the date of the team registration to the final presentations (exclusing personal short-term travel of fewer than two (2) weeks)
- Employees of Humana Inc. are not eligible to participate.
How many individuals can a team be made of?
Teams must be made up of two to four (2-4) participants from the same school. (Although multiple teams from the same school may enter the competition, a student may not be on more than one team)
* If a participant is unable to, or chooses not to, complete the competition, a substitution is permitted only if the data set has not yet been released to the teams. If the team falls below the two-person minimum due to a member leaving, the team is no longer eligible to compete.
What information must be provided to be eligible?
For teams to be eligible, teams must submit each team member’s:
- Name
- Student email address
- Telephone number
Each team member must sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), and these must be uploaded to the website by the registration deadline listed in the timeline. (By registering the team agrees to adhere to all rules laid forth by the Sponsor and Organizer of this competition)
How does a team register to compete?
Teams must register using the “Register” button located in the first section of this page and provide all required information.
After filling in the registration form the team is provided with an NDA form that needs to be completly filled with the correct registrant information and signed using Adobe Sign by each member. The forms are then returned to the registration team for review.
Will we receive a confirmation email once our team has been registered successfully?
- Yes, each team member will receive a confirmation that their team has been registered successfully.
Is there a number for us to dial into the Informational Call?
- An email will be sent with a link inviting students to join the Informational Call.
Will the Informational Call recording and PowerPoint be available?
- Yes, the recording and PowerPoint will be posted on the website after the Informational call.
Is someone who formerly worked for Humana eligible to compete?
- As long as the member of the team is no longer considered a Humana employee and is a current student of any of the recognized masters programs, they may compete.
How can we form a team?
- Teams are to be formed on your own. As long as you are a full-time and/or part-time master’s student enrolled in the same university, you can be on a team together. Teams can be interdisciplinary.
Can I form a team with an undergraduate student?
- No. This competition is open to master’s level students from within the same university.
What is the minimum/maximum number of students allowed on a team?
- The team minimum is 2 students and maximum is 4 students.
Can I compete with more than one team?
- No, students are only allowed to register for one team.
Have my Round One or Round Two submissions been received?
- Each team member will receive a confirmation email that the submission has been received successfully. If you have any issues, please contact humanacasecomp@tamu.edu.
What are the judging criteria for accuracy and fairness?
Round 1 is evaluating modeling accuracy & fairness using objective metrics based on the HOLDOUT file returned by the participants.
Accuracy: ROC/AUC measure will be calculated
Fairness: Disparity score calculated using RACE & SEX
Additional details will be provided in the Informational Call. Also, refer to the “Fairness in AI Guide” to see more details on the judging criteria.
Where can I find the Humana-Mays Healthcare Analytics Case Competition Fairness in AI Guide?
You can find the Humana-Mays Healthcare Analytics Case Competition Fairness in AI Guide here.
Can teams have a faculty advisor, or receive support from outside sources?
As stated in the Official Rules, coaching and mentoring from outside sources, other than your registered teammates, is not allowed. These outside sources include but are not limited to, university faculty, university teaching assistants, university staff, or other professional consultants in related fields.
Where can I find additional information about the Leaderboard?
- 2024 Leaderboard Guide coming soon.
Is there a page limit for submission?
- There is no page limit, but a concise presentation of findings will be noted during judging. Based on previous competitions, finalists typically submit between 15-25 pages.
Do we submit different documentation for rounds 1 and 2?
- Round 1 deliverables deadline is October 11, 2024.
- Round 2 deliverable deadline is October 20, 2024.
- Deliverable 1: A scored CSV file of the holdout file that contains 3 fields: ID, SCORE, and RANK
- Deliverable 2: A written summary of your work including key findings, implications, and recommendations.
- Refer to previous finalist submissions for several examples of successful submissions.
Do we need an executive summary?
- That is up to the participants. There are no exact guidelines for final submissions. They should be professional and concise.
Can we request feedback from non-participants?
- Discussion of the case with external parties is not allowed, per the signed NDA. Discussion of programming is allowed, though guidance on the analytic approach is forbidden.
In the second round, can we include visualization tools?
- There are no restrictions as long as the final deliverable is in a PowerPoint presentation.
If we are removing observations or making assumptions, do we have to validate them first through email or can we just move forward as long as we have good reasons to back them up?
- As long as you have good reason to back it up, it is fine.
Which version of the 3rd column should be used by students to submit their CSV file in terms of rankings?
- Rank things High-to-Low. Therefore, the member with the highest probability of having an ADE and discontinuing therapy will have the lowest rank. (i.e. 0.93 Score/Rank 0, 0.75 Score/Rank 1, 0.53 Score/Rank 2, etc.)
We submitted a file to the leaderboard and it ended up on the ‘Failed Submission” list with at reason of “ID values in submitted file did not match ID values in Humana validation file”. Please explain.
- It’s a very simple fix. When submitting the CSV with 3 fields: ID, SCORE, and RANK be sure the ID field is the ID field in the target_holdout file. In many cases, folks are mistakenly using the therapy_id field which contains characters.
Resources
Fairness to AI Guide can be found here.
Leaderboard Guide coming soon.
Informational Call will be held on September 18, 2024 – 4:00 p.m. CT
*More information to follow.
Q&A Call Materials coming soon.
Previous Competitions – 2023 Winners
Last year, over 700 master’s level students representing over 70 major universities in the U.S. registered for the national competition to compete for $90,000 in total prizes. The case competition is open to all accredited educational institutions based in the United States. Full-time and part-time master’s students from accredited Master of Science, Master of Arts, Master of Information Systems, Master of Public Health, Master of Business Administration programs, or other similar master’s programs in business, healthcare, or analytics, are eligible to enter.
Cash prizes are awarded to the top teams as follows:
- 1st Place $50,000
- 2nd Place $20,000
- 3rd Place $10,000
- 4th Place $5,000
- 5th Place $5,000
Humana
Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, KY., is committed to putting health first – for our teammates, our customers, and our company. Through our Humana insurance services, and our CenterWell health care services, we make it easier for the millions of people we serve to achieve their best health – delivering the care and service they need, when they need it. These efforts are leading to a better quality of life for people with Medicare, Medicaid, families, individuals, military service personnel, and communities at large.
Additional information regarding full-time and internship opportunities will be coming soon.
