Verticality of CVS-Aetna Deal Likely Means No Regulatory Challenges
HealthLeaders Media December 6, 2017
Merging a pharmaceutical line with a major insurer creates a huge player in the industry but not a monopoly. It also opens the possibility of CVS Health buying hospitals and other outlets.
The acquisition of Aetna by CVS Health is likely to go through without antitrust challenges by federal regulators and could spur more vertical integration of healthcare entities, one analyst says.
The size of the merger is not enough to make it a problem for the U.S. Department of Justice, says Randal L. Schultz, a partner at the law firm of Lathrop Gage and chair of the firm’s Healthcare Strategic Business Planning Practice group.
CVS Health announced recently it had agreed to buy Aetna for about $69 billion, blending...