CVS Health completed its $69 billion acquisition of health insurer Aetna on Wednesday, in a move widely anticipated to transform the U.S. healthcare system with similar mergers ahead.
The agreement will combine the companies’ coverage options with drugstore capabilities and a pharmacy benefits platform. Both sides expect that their customers will be able to benefit from the services they deliver and keep patients out of the emergency room, as they will receive much of their primary care from CVS MinuteClinics.
CVS Health President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Merlo called the deal a “transformative moment” for the company and for the healthcare industry, saying it would help to deliver lower costs to consumers.
“By delivering the combined capabilities of our two leading organizations, we will transform the consumer health experience and build healthier communities through a new innovative health care model that is local, easier to use, less expensive and puts consumers at the center of their care,” he said in a statement.
In the months ahead, the company will offer preventive health screenings in neighborhoods that they have identified as having particularly high rates of chronic illnesses, such as Type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. The screening will lead to some patients’ being diagnosed for the first time, and CVS-Aetna will aim to follow up with patients and offer them medical care.
The completion of the deal followed regulatory approvals from state insurance agencies and approval from the Department of Justice in October.
The deal was not without controversy. The American Medical Association, the nation’s largest doctor group, as well as the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, urged regulators to reject the proposed acquisition, warning that it would have anti-competitive effects on the Medicare program that pays for prescription drugs, known as Part D, as well as on retail pharmacies, health insurance, and drug middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers.
“CVS and Aetna … operate as rivals in some of the same markets, raising substantial concerns,” AMA President Barbara McAneny had said in a statement to the Department of Justice.
The acquisition is among several others ahead in the private healthcare industry. Fellow pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts is finalizing its merger with insurer Cigna after receiving federal approval in September, while Walgreens Boots Alliance and Humana are reportedly in investment talks.
