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February 8, 2023

Aetna’s parent company inks $10.6B deal to buy national physician practice 

STEVE LASCHEVER Former CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch
By Greg Bordonaro

Hartford health insurer Aetna’s parent company announced Wednesday morning it will acquire a national primary care physician group for $10.6 billion.

CVS Health said it has entered an agreement to buy Oak Street Health in an all-cash deal valued at $39 per share.

Chicago-based Oak Street Health employs approximately 600 primary care providers and has 169 medical centers across 21 states. Its services are focused on older Medicare patients, the companies said. 

Oak Street Health currently doesn’t have any Connecticut locations, but it does have a presence in New York and Rhode Island. 

CVS Health, long known as a pharmacy chain, has grown significantly over the years, diversifying into a number of different healthcare businesses as it seeks greater control of managing patient care. 

That includes its nearly $70-billion acquisition of Aetna in 2018. Last year, CVS Health announced plans to acquire for $8 billion homecare provider Signify Health, which has a major presence in Norwalk.

CVS is led by CEO Karen Lynch, who was formerly president of Aetna.

The Oak Street deal also marks the latest acquisition of physician practices by insurers, an issue that has raised concerns among Connecticut state lawmakers, as the cost of health care for businesses and individuals continues to increase. 

CVS said it expects to close the Oak Street deal by the end of the year, pending regulatory and other approvals. 
 

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