Expansion into several U.S. healthcare market segments signifies a desire to meet patients where they are.
CVS Health has had a busy 2023. Consider:
- In January 2023, the organization announced it helped to lead a $375 million funding round for Monogram Health, a specialty provider of in-home and virtual care for polychronic conditions like chronic kidney and renal disease.
- Also in January 2023, CVS Health partnered with startup Carbon Health to pilot its primary and urgent care clinic model in CVS stores; and led a $100 million investment to speed Carbon Health’s expansion into new markets.
- In March 2023, CVS Health scooped up technology company Signify Health for $8 billion.
- And in May, CVS Health announced it had officially acquired senior-focused CHP Oak Street Health, which has over 100 primary care doctor’s offices across 25 states and expects 300 locations by 2026, for $10.6 billion. Oak Street Health operates as a multi-payor primary care provider as part of CVS Health.
As these moves demonstrate, retail CHPs like CVS Health are focused on meeting patients where they are with in-home, in-store and virtual care services as well as in primary care offices. This corporatization of primary care is expected to only be the first wave. Bain & Company predicts that 30% of U.S. primary care will be owned by these non-traditional players by 2030.
These population-specific models will grow nationally in an effort to mitigate administrative complexity for clinicians. Bain & Company predicts 15% of the market will be owned by payors and payor-owned services, while 5% to 10% of the market will be owned by retailers.
Patient preference
Meanwhile, virtual health is being embraced by younger, healthier patients and is anticipated to ascend to 20% market penetration by 2030. And while fee-for-service is still predicted to be the largest model, alternative models are forecasted to take 15% to 20% of its market share.
Startup Carbon Health recently partnered with CVS Health to pilot its primary and urgent care clinic model in CVS stores. This led to a $100 million investment in Carbon Health’s expansion to new markets. Carbon Health has 125 physical clinics in 13 states and provides care for over 1 million patients.
CVS operates over 9,000 retail locations in the U.S. and will leverage Carbon Health’s model in its stores. This is just the next step in healthcare for CVS Health as it owns health insurer Aetna and pharmacy benefits manager Caremark, and it acquired technology CHP Signify Health and senior-focused CHP Oak Street Health.
Healthcare is a fragmented system in the U.S. and the primary care market plays an invaluable role in coordination. In today’s changing landscape for primary care, these non-traditional investors could catapult healthcare innovation that touches all Americans, including underserved and diverse populations.
For a deeper dive into CVS Health’s organization and footprint, visit The IDN Directory website at
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