http://www.foxbusiness.com/mar...est-acquisition.html

U.S. drugstore chain operator CVS Health Corp. (CVS) said on Sunday it had agreed to acquire U.S. health insurer Aetna Inc. (AET) for $69 billion, seeking to tackle soaring healthcare spending through lower-cost medical services in pharmacies.

This year's largest corporate acquisition will combine one of the nation's largest pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) and pharmacy operators with one of its oldest health insurers, whose national business ranges from employer healthcare to government plans.

The deal comes after Aetna's $37 billion plan to acquire smaller U.S. health insurance peer Humana Inc (HUM) was blocked in January by a U.S. federal judge over antitrust concerns. A proposed combination of peers Anthem Inc (ANTM) and Cigna Corp (CI) was also shot down.

Their vision expands beyond capitalizing on CVS' existing MinuteClinic structure, which largely offers preventative services like flu shots, the companies' chief executives said in an interview.

"When you walk into CVS there's the pharmacy. What if there's a vision and audiology center, and perhaps a nutritionist, and some sort of care manager?" CVS CEO Larry Merlo said.

CVS plans to use its low-cost clinics to provide medical services to Aetna's roughly 23 million medical members. In addition to health clinics and medical equipment, CVS could provide assistance with vision, hearing and nutrition.

*****************

while I can't articulate a good detailed argument, this doesn't sound good to me. Smaller enterprises competing with each other seem to be best for consumers

Where are they going to find, and how are they going to pay, enough qualified people to staff any substantial number of locations? And once they do, what are they going to do when people come in expecting the equivalent of free care at the ER?

I can see Aetna and CVS being hungry for a deal. I can see horizontal integration being a viable strategy in that it brings together medical financing, medicine, the tracking possible with the combined corporate databases, and their combined bargaining power. I can also see a mountain of costs and liabilities mounting up if they try to do more than give flu shots.

I've don't really get what keeps CVS, and Walgreens for that matter, in business?

It seems Target, Walmart, even the big supermarkets offer everything they do, plus a lot of other stuff, that makes them a better one shop stop than CVS or Walgreens.

Or is there THAT MUCH MONEY in drugs to support the whole store ?

quote:

Originally posted by TomV:

Or is there THAT MUCH MONEY in drugs to support the whole store ?

Why, yes, yes there is!

And yet they offer the worst service of any service industry, in my experience.

quote:

Originally posted by TomV:
I've don't really get what keeps CVS, and Walgreens for that matter, in business?

Convenience. Pull up to the front of the store and get out quickly. Women spend crazy money on makeup, soaps, lotions, etc. The loyalty/reward program offers them big discounts. CVS stays in business because the business model works.

quote:

Originally posted by TomV:
I've don't really get what keeps CVS, and Walgreens for that matter, in business?

It seems Target, Walmart, even the big supermarkets offer everything they do, plus a lot of other stuff, that makes them a better one shop stop than CVS or Walgreens.

Or is there THAT MUCH MONEY in drugs to support the whole store ?

There is a TREMENDOUS amount of profit in drugs. A few weeks ago I took my dog to the vet. He was diagnosed with a lung disease. The vet wrote a prescription for 10 pills of Viagra which apparently was originally developed to treat lung diseases. I walk into Walgreens and present the scrip to the pharmacist who then tells me that it will cost me $1,200.00. Yes, $1,200.00 for ten pills.And because it was for my dog, my insurance obviously didn't cover it. It turns out that they thought that the pills were really for me. When I was finally able to convince them that they were actually for my dog and not me, they were able to get the price down to......$20.00 through various manipulations of employee/manufacturer discounts. Point is that they were able to alter the price that much is indicative of how much profit there is in drugs. Unfortunately they didn't help my dog as I had to put him down anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog7972:

quote:

Originally posted by TomV:
I've don't really get what keeps CVS, and Walgreens for that matter, in business?

It seems Target, Walmart, even the big supermarkets offer everything they do, plus a lot of other stuff, that makes them a better one shop stop than CVS or Walgreens.

Or is there THAT MUCH MONEY in drugs to support the whole store ?

There is a TREMENDOUS amount of profit in drugs. A few weeks ago I took my dog to the vet. He was diagnosed with a lung disease. The vet wrote a prescription for 10 pills of Viagra which apparently was originally developed to treat lung diseases. I walk into Walgreens and present the scrip to the pharmacist who then tells me that it will cost me $1,200.00. Yes, $1,200.00 for ten pills.And because it was for my dog, my insurance obviously didn't cover it. It turns out that they thought that the pills were really for me. When I was finally able to convince them that they were actually for my dog and not me, they were able to get the price down to......$20.00 through various manipulations of employee/manufacturer discounts. Point is that they were able to alter the price that much is indicative of how much profit there is in drugs. Unfortunately they didn't help my dog as I had to put him down anyway.

Brand Name Viagra suitable for humans is $35 per pill, therefore your script should have been $350 or less.

Sildenafil is the generic name and is about 33 cents per 20 mg pill at Sam's Club with an enhanced membership. A max dose is 5x20mg or $1.65. It should be prescribed as generic Revatio.

quote:

Originally posted by TomV:
I've don't really get what keeps CVS, and Walgreens for that matter, in business?

Convenience. There's either a CVS or Walgreens on just about every major intersection around here. Whereas the large stores, such as Mejier, WalMart, etc.: Not so much. Then there's the time-in-store aspect. I can park right outside the door, walk a short distance to the pharmacy, get my prescription, and be out of there. Or drive-through. The big stores are much more hassle.

quote:

Originally posted by TomV:
I've don't really get what keeps CVS, and Walgreens for that matter, in business?

It seems Target, Walmart, even the big supermarkets offer everything they do, plus a lot of other stuff, that makes them a better one shop stop than CVS or Walgreens.

Or is there THAT MUCH MONEY in drugs to support the whole store ?

Just an FYI. The Target stores that we shop at here in Central Florida sold their pharmacy operations to CVS some time back. Kind of a drag, given you can no longer pay for merchandise at the pharmacy when picking up a prescription.

And I totally agree with the member who posted above that their service sucks. Unfortunately, Target is the best location for us to pick up prescriptions.

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog7972:

quote:

Originally posted by TomV:
I've don't really get what keeps CVS, and Walgreens for that matter, in business?

It seems Target, Walmart, even the big supermarkets offer everything they do, plus a lot of other stuff, that makes them a better one shop stop than CVS or Walgreens.

Or is there THAT MUCH MONEY in drugs to support the whole store ?

There is a TREMENDOUS amount of profit in drugs. A few weeks ago I took my dog to the vet. He was diagnosed with a lung disease. The vet wrote a prescription for 10 pills of Viagra which apparently was originally developed to treat lung diseases. I walk into Walgreens and present the scrip to the pharmacist who then tells me that it will cost me $1,200.00. Yes, $1,200.00 for ten pills.And because it was for my dog, my insurance obviously didn't cover it. It turns out that they thought that the pills were really for me. When I was finally able to convince them that they were actually for my dog and not me, they were able to get the price down to......$20.00 through various manipulations of employee/manufacturer discounts. Point is that they were able to alter the price that much is indicative of how much profit there is in drugs. Unfortunately they didn't help my dog as I had to put him down anyway.

Our one cats insulin used to cost us $350/month, I found a rebate that brought it down to 270, Saturday morning I went in to pick it up, the rebate had changed, it now cost me nothing. For them to be able to manipulate the pricing like that, there must be an insane amount of profit built in.

As a currently satisfied Aetna customer, I don't get any warm and fuzzy feelings from this news.

quote:

"When you walk into CVS there's the pharmacy. What if there's a vision and audiology center, and perhaps a nutritionist, and some sort of care manager?" CVS CEO Larry Merlo said.

This is exactly what I don't want in my healthcare. They can keep their Minute Clinic, I want nothing to do with it. There is no way whatsoever that the company responsible for paying the bill being the one responsible for providing the service isn't a conflict of interest, with you and me stuck in the middle of that conflict.

quote:

Originally posted by Perception:
As a currently satisfied Aetna customer, I don't get any warm and fuzzy feelings from this news...

Nor do I. I have Aetna thru my state retirement program. Wonder how they feel?

If it's anything like there stores you will have 10 stations only one open with some knuckle head that can't figure out their ass from their elbow

quote:

Originally posted by PD:

quote:

Originally posted by TomV:
I've don't really get what keeps CVS, and Walgreens for that matter, in business?

Convenience. Pull up to the front of the store and get out quickly. Women spend crazy money on makeup, soaps, lotions, etc. The loyalty/reward program offers them big discounts. CVS stays in business because the business model works.

Yep. I worked for one of these companies for 8 years.

They really don't make much on prescriptions. But they make a lot of money on cigarettes, cosmetics, and convenience items.

People bitch that they can get a gallon of milk a lot cheaper at Walmart, but buy it at Walgreens because they can get the milk, check out, and be on their way in a fraction of them time.