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CVS Health may be breaking up…with itself.
The board of directors at CVS Health—the parent company of CVS Pharmacy, pharmacy benefit manager CVS Caremark, and insurance unit Aetna—are working with a group of bankers to review the company’s strategy, which according to Reuters, may lead to a split between its pharmacy division and Aetna.
The company is also considering whether CVS Caremark should be under its retail or insurance arms, Reuters reported in early October, as it is facing pressure and in conversations with one of its investors, Glenview Capital.
Ultimately, the potential breakup could lead to two separate publicly traded companies, which could create more shareholder value and boost revenues, according to the Wall Street Journal.
According to the Journal, CVS’s shares have dropped about 20% year to date as of early October. This was largely due to Medicare challenges within Aetna as medical costs increased and 2024 Medicare Advantage star ratings fell, Healthcare Brew previously reported.
Leadership and layoffs. CVS purchased Aetna back in 2017 for $69 billion.
But in August, when announcing its Q2 earnings, CVS Health’s CEO Karen Lynch shared a plan to cust costs by $2 billion and announced she would take over day-to-day leadership of Aetna, replacing the former president, Brian Kane.
“We are disappointed by the current performance and outlook for the healthcare benefits segment, and I have decided to make leadership changes,” Lynch said on the earnings call.
At the end of September, CVS also laid off about 2,900 employees mostly across its corporate division, CNN reported.
“Our industry faces continued disruption, regulatory pressures and evolving consumer needs and expectations,” a CVS spokesperson told CNN.