CVS Health plans to split into two publicly traded companies, unwinding decades of deals that built one of the country’s largest health care conglomerates. The move comes amid federal and state scrutiny of vertical integration.
Both companies will keep CVS in their names: CVS Health and CVS Pharmacy. CVS Health will include pharmacy benefit manager Caremark, insurer Aetna, the specialty pharmacy, and businesses providing primary care and home visits to older adults.
The structure means the specialty pharmacy will remain connected to Caremark, one of the country’s largest pharmacy benefit managers, and to Aetna. Critics have argued that companies such as CVS profit excessively from dispensing prescription drugs.
Sources: STAT News.