CVS Health to split in two, separating pharmacy business from insurance

CVS Health said on Wednesday it will split into two companies, separating retail pharmacy from its insurance and pharmacy-benefit operations in a major unwinding of the healthcare conglomerate it spent years building through acquisitions.

The split ​comes amid growing scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators of vertically integrated healthcare companies such as CVS.

Years of ‌consolidation across the industry have raised concerns that companies controlling multiple parts of the healthcare supply chain could face conflicts of interest, limit competition and contribute to rising healthcare costs.

CVS said the separation of its units was expected to be completed in the first half of 2028. The split would ​mark a significant reversal of the company’s strategy of combining retail pharmacy, health insurance and pharmacy-benefit management under one ​roof.

CVS built the conglomerate through a series of acquisitions, including its roughly $78 billion purchase of health ⁠insurer Aetna in 2018.

Shares of the company were down more than 10% in early trading Wednesday.

Leerink Partners analyst Michael Cherny attributed the premarket decline partly to ​deal-related uncertainty and broader volatility in healthcare stocks following the midterm elections.

Following the split, the healthcare solutions company will be referred to ​as CVS Health in the interim. CVS…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business