The health care world was aflutter yesterday over a report in the industry publication Reorg Research that says antitrust officials at the Department of Justice won’t challenge CVS Health’s $69 billion acquisition of Aetna, and may send an approval memo as soon as the end of this month.
Why it matters: If this merger does indeed proceed, CVS would soon absorb a gigantic health insurance business into its pharmacies, pharmacy benefit manager and clinics, inevitably affecting the health care and pocketbooks of millions of Americans.
Between the lines: The DOJ may feel a little burned from losing the AT&T-Time Warner merger case, which paved a pathway for more approvals of large vertical mergers like CVS and Aetna. But this report was news to both CVS and Aetna.
A CVS spokesperson said the pharmacy giant doesn’t “comment on market rumors,” and an Aetna spokesperson said the company had no comment.
Want to publish your own articles on DistilINFO Publications?
Send us an email, we will get in touch with you.
Yes, but: CVS and Aetna have a lot of overlap with their Medicare prescription drug plans. It’s very difficult to believe the government won’t demand some level of divestiture of those plans, at a minimum.
Date: July 16, 2018
Source: AXIOS
