Now that the $69 billion merger between CVS Health and Aetna has been approved by the Justice Department, The New York Times reports the era of giant pharmacy managers that brokered prices between drug companies and insurers and employers has been upended.
The merger can go ahead as long as Aetna sells off its private Medicare drug plans, the Justice Department said in announcing the deal’s approval today.
CVS Health was the last of the large independent pharmacy managers to enter into deals with major insurers, consolidating control over the money that Americans spend on medical care and prescription drugs.
The deal is the latest in a flurry of combinations among health care companies in the past few years. Last month, the Justice Department approved Cigna’s takeover of Express Scripts, a major CVS rival.
The companies involved say that they will be better able to coordinate care for consumers as the mergers help tighten cost controls. But critics worry that consumers could end up with far fewer choices and potentially higher expenses.
This merger and others like it show how far organizations are crossing the traditional line between insurance companies responsible for paying for care and providers responsible for delivering it.
