CVS Caremark
Healthcare companywww.caremark.com
107
MENTIONS
72
EPISODES
56
PODCASTS
Search complete. 107 mentions across 72 episodes found for "CVS Caremark".
Nov 5, 2026
Neal FreymanHOST
Just kidding.
Neal FreymanHOST
One company will be called CVS Pharmacy and contain the retail pharmacy business, including 9000 drugstores, while the other will be called CVS Health and be home to the health insurer Aetna, the pharmacy benefit manager Caremark and other businesses like Senior Clinics.
Neal FreymanHOST
Why is this so surprising? Because this is the complete opposite of what healthcare companies have been doing for the better part of two decades.
Neal FreymanHOST
CVS and its rivals Cigna and UnitedHealth have been bulking up to create vertically integrated behemoths that became your all-in-one stop for health needs.
Toby HowellHOST
They bought up Aetna.
Toby HowellHOST
Then they own that hidden middleman that everyone hates, pharmacy benefit managers.
Toby HowellHOST
It's a company called Caremark.
Toby HowellHOST
And then they do own the retail storefront where you actually pick up the pills and those gummy worms.
Ayla BrownHOST
In finance, CVS Health plans to split into two publicly traded companies, separating retail pharmacies from insurance and pharmacy benefit operations.
Ayla BrownHOST
Aetna and Caremark will remain together.
Ayla BrownHOST
The separation is expected in the first half of 2028, with existing shareholders receiving shares in both companies.
Ayla BrownHOST
Kraft Heinz is selling a majority stake in its North American coffee business and a deal valuing it at $650 million.
Zaid AdmaniHOST
See, many people might think of CVS as just like a pharmacy with six-foot receipts, but they're a massive healthcare conglomerate.
Zaid AdmaniHOST
On top of running 9,000 retail locations and pharmacies, they also own Aetna Health Insurance and a pharmacy benefits manager called Caremark.
Zaid AdmaniHOST
We're going to talk more about the pharmacy benefit manager in a bit.
Zaid AdmaniHOST
Well, now CVS plans to break up the company into two publicly traded companies by the first half of 2028.
Zaid AdmaniHOST
That's the business that most of us are familiar with, with roughly 9,000 drugstores, including the Minute Clinics inside some of those drugstores.
Zaid AdmaniHOST
And then the second company will be called CVS Health.
Zaid AdmaniHOST
That's where the insurance company Aetna will go alongside with Caremark, the pharmacy benefits manager.
Zaid AdmaniHOST
And you know, this is a pretty big change in strategy for CVS.
Christopher BouleyHOST
Now they have about 9,500 pharmacies.
Christopher BouleyHOST
And in 2006, under, and I have great respect for Tom Ryan, he led the charge where they bought Caremark.
Christopher BouleyHOST
So a merger at that time, the stock market did not like it.
Christopher BouleyHOST
They lost quite a bit of value.
Christopher BouleyHOST
So then about a few years back, CVS merged with Aetna.
Christopher BouleyHOST
So they formed CVS Health.
Christopher BouleyHOST
So with CVS, there's companies Aetna, CVS Caremark, Oak Street Health, Signify Health, CVS Specialty, 9000 CVS Pharmacies, the Minute Clinic, the Mayo Pharmacy.
Christopher BouleyHOST
and the Health 100 Technology Business Solutions.
Louis ParksGUEST
Yes, actually.
Louis ParksGUEST
So for 2027, there's a new PBM, which is OptumRx, which is replacing CVS Caremark.
Louis ParksGUEST
And it's actually a good change, in my opinion, because it offers more access to over 65,000 pharmacies nationwide.
Louis ParksGUEST
Whereas CVS Caremark, you were restricted just within the CVS pharmacies.
Louis ParksGUEST
Now it's opened up to, again, over 65,000 different pharmacies nationwide.
Louis ParksGUEST
So That can be Walgreens, including CVS, Walmart, Kroger, Costco.
Louis ParksGUEST
So they do have a dedicated support team to assist with copay cards.
Louis ParksGUEST
One of the biggest changes has to do with specialty drug medications.
speaker_0HOST
Like CVS Health, which is a $400 billion empire, is executing a radical, highly guarded plan to split itself up.
speaker_0HOST
They are separating their retail pharmacies from their Aetna Insurance division and their Caremark unit.
speaker_1HOST
Right.
speaker_0HOST
Okay, before we get into the strategy of this, explain this to me like I'm five.
speaker_0HOST
I understand what a retail pharmacy is, and I know Aetna is health insurance, but what is Caremark? What is a pharmacy benefit unit, and why does splitting it off actually fix anything?
speaker_1HOST
Okay, get.
speaker_1HOST
So a pharmacy benefit manager, or PBM, it's essentially, it's the deeply powerful, mostly invisible middleman of the healthcare industry.
speaker_0HOST
Right.
Nina CardonaHOST
Its retail pharmacies, mail-order pharmacies, and in-store clinics will be known as CVS Pharmacy.
Nina CardonaHOST
A separate company called CVS Health will include the insurance company Aetna and pharmacy benefit manager Caremark.
Nina CardonaHOST
Meanwhile, a pharmacy in Mount Juliet is set to close and lay off more than 50 people.
Nina CardonaHOST
Del Mar Medical has filed an official state notice saying the closure and layoffs will happen by year's end.
Megan LynchHOST
CVS Health breaking itself in two, and pressure from Missouri Senator Josh Hawley appears to be part of the reason.
Michael CalhounCORRESPONDENT
The company will separate its drug stores from its Aetna insurance business and from Caremark, one of the country's three largest pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs.
Michael CalhounCORRESPONDENT
CVS CEO David Joyner told analysts the company is acting from a position of strength.
Michael CalhounCORRESPONDENT
But on CNBC, he said the regulatory environment is also something CVS has to navigate.
JillHOST
It's going to retain the parent company name and house the health insurance and pharmacy benefit manager divisions.
JillHOST
It's also going to include Aetna, CVS Caremark, CVS Specialty, Oak Street Health, and Signify Health.
JillHOST
It's going to operate the retail side of the empire.
JillHOST
Oh, so they're going to do...
Doug MeehanHOST
That will be called CVS Pharmacy.
Doug MeehanHOST
CVS originally merged those two businesses back in 2007 to form CVS Caremark.
Doug MeehanHOST
The first pharmacy, by the way, founded more than 60 years ago in Lowell.
Doug MeehanHOST
Its title? Consumer Value Stores.
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