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CVS Is Said to Agree to Buy Aetna

nytimes.com

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Re: CVS Is Said to Agree to Buy Aetna

#31

Post by quadrangle »

dr_ wrote: post #21
maxerickson wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given that currently around 1 out of 9 locations has a minute clinic that seems unlikely. https://cvshealth.com/about/facts-and-company-information When I had Aetna, they didn't even cover getting a flu shot at the pharmacy. Maybe they changed that, but it's dumb, they covered it 100% using primary care.

I can attest to the fact that Aetna does cover flu shots now.

Flu shots are required to be covered in all U.S. insurance per the ACA. The point was that Aetna was requiring the more expensive (for them!) visit to a doctor's office for them to cover it and wouldn't cover it happening at a pharmacy.

Re: CVS Is Said to Agree to Buy Aetna

#32

Post by ams6110 »

rsync wrote: post #28

I feel that perhaps healthcare is the ultimate triumph of capitalism. Every other avenue of runaway consumerism and overconsumption can obviously be pointed to as either indulgent or unnecessary. But not healthcare: it's your health, after all - your wellbeing. It's a fundamental right, right ? ... The received wisdom is that the aging of the baby boomer generation is driving expanded healthcare expenses as this larg…

While I doubt your scenario is happening with deliberate intent, I definitely avoid interacting with the "healthcare" industry as much as possible.

Re: CVS Is Said to Agree to Buy Aetna

#33

Post by dqpb »

orf wrote: post #29
dqpb wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Politics and power struggles don't build systems, they build shit-shows. Engineers build systems.

> Politics and power struggles don't build systems, they build shit-shows. Engineers build systems. The shit-show that is my current engineering-built system would beg to differ.

which system is that?

Re: CVS Is Said to Agree to Buy Aetna

#34

Post by orf »

dqpb wrote: post #33
orf wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Politics and power struggles don't build systems, they build shit-shows. Engineers build systems. The shit-show that is my current engineering-built system would beg to differ.

which system is that?

One built by engineers?

Re: CVS Is Said to Agree to Buy Aetna

#35

Post by bartart »

Does this mean that many CVSs will become magnets for sick people as CVS tries to integrate more basic health services into its stores?

I realize that most people going to an expanded minute clinic aren't going to be some sort of walking dead, but it seems that if CVS tries to make its stores too much like primary care with ill people going to get prescriptions from a doctor, then people will avoid buying things at its stores to avoid getting sick.

Re: CVS Is Said to Agree to Buy Aetna

#36

Post by pcurve »

IBM wrote: post #16

A big chunk of the health care industry is the oligopoly of distributors. There's only 3 of them: McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal. If Amazon can bring much needed competition to that part of the healthcare market it'd help bring prices down. CVS is moving up the stack because they're afraid of Amazon entering the industry. They're combining a retailer, PBM and now a health insurer. Personally I think it shou…

Drug distributor is probably the easiest space for Amazon to get into, but it's not where the cost savings opportunities lie. Margin isn't very high in that space.

In order for anti trust flag to be raised through vertical integration like this, the combined entity would need to start buying up other entities in the vertical chain.

I'm actually interested in how this plays out.

Re: CVS Is Said to Agree to Buy Aetna

#37

Post by ahh »

I wonder if this will lead to restrictions on the use of copay coupons [1]. Insurers hate them since they break my incentive to use cheaper drugs from their formulary, but pharmacies don't care (and probably are better off for me using them.)

Since I mostly hate my insurer and want to help them towards bankruptcy by extracting as much coverage from my fixed premium as possible, I have no objection to using these coupons if they'd help me and I felt like an expensive drug choice was better for me, though it's not come up for almost any drug I've needed.

Though I do need new epi-pens; maybe I should look for one while I still can!

[1] https://www.propublica.org/article/are-copay-coupons-actuall...

Re: CVS Is Said to Agree to Buy Aetna

#38

Post by pcurve »

bartart wrote: post #35

Does this mean that many CVSs will become magnets for sick people as CVS tries to integrate more basic health services into its stores? I realize that most people going to an expanded minute clinic aren't going to be some sort of walking dead, but it seems that if CVS tries to make its stores too much like primary care with ill people going to get prescriptions from a doctor, then people will avoid buying things at i…

Minute clinic facility usually has physical separation from CVS store, no?

Re: CVS Is Said to Agree to Buy Aetna

#39

Post by throwaway0255 »

rsync wrote: post #28

I feel that perhaps healthcare is the ultimate triumph of capitalism. Every other avenue of runaway consumerism and overconsumption can obviously be pointed to as either indulgent or unnecessary. But not healthcare: it's your health, after all - your wellbeing. It's a fundamental right, right ? ... The received wisdom is that the aging of the baby boomer generation is driving expanded healthcare expenses as this larg…

> The boomers represent an irresistible pile of money. But they don't smoke. They don't have new households to start. They're getting wise to the whole sugar thing. What is left to tempt them with ?

> What if there were a clear imperative on the part of a variety of industries to keep this population as unhealthy as possible - so they can stripmine their assets for "healthcare" ?

It's not clear that living a healthy lifestyle reduces healthcare costs, it can actually make you more expensive to care for.[1][2][3]

Diabetes medications and death from sudden heart attacks are cheap. Healthy people who live into their 80s/90s are the biggest drag on the healthcare system. They spend more of their lives as retirees. They end up needing 24-hour care. And then they still incur the same end-of-life causes as the obese/smokers... they get cancer, they get heart disease, alzheimers, etc.

Smokers and obese are inexpensive to care for in terms of lifetime cost. The best-case scenario for an insurance company is that you get hit by a bus or something. Barring that, I think they might actually prefer that you be a smoker or become obese.

[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/9359212/Obese-an...

[2] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/health/05iht-obese.1.97488...

[3] https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/03/22/alcohol-...

Re: CVS Is Said to Agree to Buy Aetna

#40

Post by dangrossman »

pcurve wrote: post #38
bartart wrote: post #35

Does this mean that many CVSs will become magnets for sick people as CVS tries to integrate more basic health services into its stores? I realize that most people going to an expanded minute clinic aren't going to be some sort of walking dead, but it seems that if CVS tries to make its stores too much like primary care with ill people going to get prescriptions from a doctor, then people will avoid buying things at i…

Minute clinic facility usually has physical separation from CVS store, no?

The one I've seen was just an extra room inside the store, beside the pharmacy. There was no physical separation of patients from shoppers. Same thing at Walgreens Healthcare Clinic, just extra rooms beside the pharmacy.
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