CVS Health said Wednesday, November 4, that it plans to split its roughly 9,000 pharmacies from Aetna, Caremark and related health businesses into two publicly traded companies in the first half of 2028.
The planned CVS Pharmacy company would include the retail stores, mail-order pharmacy, MinuteClinic locations and Health100 technology services. The other company would bring together Aetna, pharmacy-benefit manager Caremark, CVS Specialty, Oak Street Health and Signify Health. That company will keep the CVS Health name for now.
CVS Chairman and CEO David Joyner is slated to lead the healthcare company. Group president Prem Shah is expected to lead CVS Pharmacy. The separation is intended to be tax-free to CVS and its shareholders.
Shareholders would own shares in both companies. The separation remains subject to customary conditions and approvals. The move would reverse part of CVS’s 2018 strategy to bring pharmacy, insurance and healthcare services together under one company.
That strategy included CVS’s acquisition of Aetna. The announcement comes as healthcare companies that own several parts of the care and prescription-drug supply chain face growing scrutiny. Critics have raised concerns about competition, conflicts of interest and costs.
CVS says the two companies will have separate leadership. The planned split is intended to let each company focus on its business. The separation is not expected to be completed for more than a year.