CVS Health and Aetna $69 Billion Merger Is Approved With Conditions

The Justice Department’s approval of the $69 billion merger between CVS Health and Aetna on Wednesday caps a wave of consolidation among giant health care players that could leave American consumers with less control over their medical care and prescription drugs.

The approval marks the close of an era, during which powerful pharmacy benefit managers brokered drug prices among pharmaceutical companies, insurers and employers.

But a combined CVS-Aetna may be even more formidable. As the last major free-standing pharmacy manager, CVS Health had revenues of about $185 billion last year, and provided prescription plans to roughly 94 million customers. Aetna, one of the nation’s largest insurers with about $60 billion in revenue last year, covers 22 million people in its health plans.

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Yay! CVS now controls more of the healthcare industry. Based off the numbers in the article CVS now insures 1/3 of the US' population, while also being the biggest pharmacy chain, and let's not forget that they also provide primary care services as well.

All of which they do for profit.

But there's clearly nothing wrong with the healthcare industry in the US. CVS is a wholly benevolent corporation only looking out for the best interests of the populace.

The Disney-Fox merger may have gained more attention but I feel that this one is way more insidious. CVS has been trying to take over the healthcare industry for a while now and this takes them one step closer.

Today I learned that my desk calculator doesn't have enough digits to go to one billion.
I can only math up to one hundred million (minus one).

I'd need 691 cheap calculators just to fathom that kind of money.

Our currency is deeply broken- and not only should have this merger been denied, both companies should have been shattered into thousands of smaller companies by anti-monopolistic law.

This is what happens when you layer on more and more expensive regulations. This sort of thing was predictable when Obamacare was passed. Only the very largest will survive and competition will die as a result.

You're looking at one of two kinds of monopolies: private or government and no matter which one wins, we all lose.

Well they got 1/3 of the way to single payer !!!!

💥😁💥

a reply to: ketsuko

Please. The writing was on the wall in 1993 when CVS founded their Caremark insurance brand.

The healthcare industry is the largest lobbying group in the country and CVS is a significant contributor to that. This was going to happen whether or not Obamacare was passed.

a reply to: Xcalibur254

Again, no matter how it happens, everyone loses when there is one provider in a market. It doesn't matter who that provider is.

There is nothing more inherently fair or responsive about a government over a corporation. One wants profit and makes you pay because you have no alternative. The other simply taxes whatever it deems necessary and so has not motive whatsoever to be efficient or provide any kind of good service.

Either way, you and I and everyone else loses.

a reply to: ketsuko

Again, no matter how it happens, everyone loses when there is one provider in a market. It doesn't matter who that provider is.

France seems to be doing pretty good.