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Connecticut Regulators Hear Testimony On Aetna-CVS Deal

Ryan Caron King
/
WNPR
Aetna's Hartford Headquarters

Connecticut regulators are considering whether to sign off on the merger between Hartford health insurer Aetna and pharmacy chain CVS. They held a public hearing in the city Thursday.

In a commitment letter revealed just before the hearing, Rhode Island-based CVS said it plans to keep Aetna’s headquarters in Hartford for at least ten years, and will preserve the current level of employment for four.

The city itself and the Connecticut Business and Industry Association have both warmly endorsed the deal, particularly after CVS's remarks. Prior to the merger announcement, Aetna as a standalone company had planned to move its headquarters to New York City.

But not everyone thinks it’ll be great for consumers.

Nathan Tinker is the CEO of the Connecticut Pharmacists Association, which represents independent pharmacies and pharmacy workers. He believes Aetna will direct its own customers solely to CVS for pharmacy needs, cutting down on competition and driving up prices.

“Bringing the insurance company and its pharmacy benefit manager together in-house is tantamount to letting the fox into the henhouse," he told the hearing. "There will be little incentive to control costs or to pass any perceived savings on to patients.”

Charles Bell of the Consumers Union says in many large cities in Connecticut, CVS will end up providing more than half of the pharmacy benefit management - or PBM - services for people with health insurance.

“These new insurer-PBM combinations threaten to be major healthcare oligopolies," he said. "And the game of healthcare consolidation and healthcare pacman, won’t stop here.”

Several speakers urged Connecticut’s Insurance Department either to oppose the merger outright, or to impose conditions that would safeguard consumers’ rights.

Regulators will give their recommendation in coming days. The Department of Justice has yet to rule on the merger.

Harriet Jones is Managing Editor for Connecticut Public Radio, overseeing the coverage of daily stories from our busy newsroom.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.