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November 6, 2024

CVS Health names former UnitedHealthcare exec as new Aetna CEO

Contributed Steve Nelson
By David Krechevsky

CVS Health on Tuesday named a former CEO of UnitedHealthcare as president of its subsidiary, Aetna Inc.

Steve Nelson most recently served as CEO of ChenMed, a value-based primary care company headquartered in Miami. He had served as CEO of UnitedHealth Group’s UnitedHealthcare from 2017 until he retired in 2019. His appointment as Aetna president is effective immediately.

Nelson succeeds Brian Kane, who left Aetna in August after less than a year at the helm of the 170-year-old health insurer that is one of Hartford’s largest employers and taxpayers.

During his tenure at UnitedHealthcare, Nelson held several leadership roles, helping  its commercial and government businesses to achieve “significant improvements in growth, profitability, employee engagement and culture, and customer satisfaction,” CVS said.

In addition to appointing Nelson, CVS Health named Prem Shah as group president, effective immediately. He will oversee CVS Caremark, CVS Pharmacy and the company’s healthcare delivery businesses, the company said.
 
Both Nelson and Shah will report to CVS Health CEO David Joyner, who was appointed to the post last month to replace former Aetna President Karen Lynch.

The leadership changes come as CVS Health has struggled over the past year with various issues, including higher medical expenses from its Hartford-based insurance arm that have weighed down earnings. 

The company posted mixed results for the third quarter Wednesday, reporting net income of $71 million, or 7 cents per diluted share, down 97% from the same period last year. The results were well below analysts’ expectations of earnings of $1.44 per share.

Operating income decreased 77.5%, which the company attributed to a decrease in adjusted operating income and restructuring charges of approximately $1.2 billion in the current year.

CVS Health said in September that it planned to cut 1% of its workforce, or about 2,900 employees, as part of a broader $2 billion cost-cutting effort that will include closing 271 retail stores.

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