US: CVS, Aetna unscathed through congressional hearing

Executives from CVS Health and Aetna sought to assure lawmakers that their US$69 billion merger would create value for consumers and not result in anti-competitive behavior. They spoke at a hearing before the House Judiciary Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Subcommittee on Tuesday, February 27.

At the hearing, a CVS official told a House subcommittee that the proposed merger of pharmacy giant and pharmacy benefit manager CVS with health insurer Aetna could actually bring more business to some primary care providers.

“Sixty-two million Americans don’t have access to adequate primary care,” Thomas Moriarty, executive vice president of CVS Health, said at a hearing on competition in the pharmaceutical supply chain held by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law.

All was not positive however the American Medical Association  (AMA), in a statement for the record, argued the merger would result in the removal of Aetna as a potential pharmacy benefit manager market entrant.

“A CVS acquisition of Aetna would foreclose the one remaining major customer opportunity for would-be CVS competitors,” the AMA wrote.