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www.HartfordBusiness.com • November 12, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 5 Wolf Pack Season Tickets On Sale Now!! Ticket Packages start at only $190! - Guaranteed Giveaways - Hundreds of dollars in savings - Exclusive season ticket holder events Join the Pack! 855-762-6451 • HartfordWolfPack.com CVS provides more hints of reimagined health care post Aetna merger By Joe Cooper jcooper@hartfordhusiness.com C VS Health executives reaffirmed their commitment to lowering healthcare costs after the phar- macy giant's $69 billion acquisition of in- surer Aetna clears in the next two weeks. The reassurances came during CVS Health's third-quarter Nov. 6 conference call, which offered investors a glimpse into what a combined company would look like. The CVS-Aetna deal has received approval from 23 of 28 state regu- latory bodies, and is slated to close before Thanks- giving, said CVS Health CEO and President Larry J. Merlo. CVS and Aetna previously received approval from both the Con- necticut Insurance Department and the U.S. Justice Department, contin- gent on Aetna divesting its standalone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan business. Merlo said the Rhode Island-based company will exceed its original goal of cutting $750 million in overhead costs by integrating its corporate ex- penses and existing assets under the combined company. He also said CVS will reduce medi- cal costs by increasing customer adherence to prescription regimens, expanding its membership and upping its use of storefronts to reduce emer- gency room visits, or move expensive therapy services to lower-cost sites. "The longer-term medical cost sav- ings will come from new programs that are only made possible through the combination and close integration of our two companies," he said. "And we are targeting substantial savings through specific portfolio of products and services." Merlo said CVS and Aetna will of- fer a new, one-stop shop model that will improve health management for five chronic conditions: diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, asthma and behavioral health. This will be made possible, he said, by integrating pharmacy and medi- cal claims, its clinical-data set, and expanding its MinuteClinic to sup- port early identification and ongoing management of chronic diseases. CVS will also launch new programs and services to reduce "avoidable hospital readmissions," he said. CVS will unveil the new offerings at its first "concept stores" early in 2019. "And through these stores, we will pilot the programs just mentioned and explore new services to better address the cost-quality-access challenges of consumers and identify the most ef- fective and scalable solutions, so they can be rolled out more broadly across our footprint," he said. Following the deal's closure, CVS has pledged to keep Aetna headquartered in Hartford for at least 10 years. Larry J. Merlo, CEO and President, CVS Health PHOTO | HBJ FILE CVS stores will be reinvented once Aetna and CVS unite.