Industry
CVS plans to split retail pharmacies from insurance and PBM businesses
CVS plans to separate its retail pharmacies from Aetna and Caremark in the first half of 2028.
CVS Health plans to split into two publicly traded companies in the first half of 2028. One company will house insurer Aetna and pharmacy benefit manager Caremark, along with Oak Street Health, Signify Health and CVS’ specialty drug business. The other will include CVS’ 9,000 retail pharmacies, mail order pharmacy and walk-in clinics.
The insurance and PBM company will keep the CVS Health name and be led by CEO David Joyner. The pharmacy company will be called CVS Pharmacy and led by Prem Shah, currently a CVS group president. CVS said existing shareholders will own stock in both companies.
Joyner said the businesses will retain joint products and services through commercial agreements. The split comes amid scrutiny of pharmacy benefit managers and companies that own both insurers and pharmacies. Some analysts and other healthcare observers have questioned whether separating the retail pharmacies will resolve conflicts of interest while the insurer and PBM remain together.
Reporting on this story
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- Fierce Healthcare CVS Health plans to split pharmacy business from Aetna, Caremark (opens in a new tab)
