More healthcare services will be available at CVS Health Corp.'s stores if the company inks a deal to buy insurer Aetna Inc., Reuters reported Dec. 1.
Citing unnamed sources, Reuters reported that CVS anticipates expanding the services at its roughly 9,700 stores in order to reduce emergency room visits among Aetna's patients. The move toward more preventative care could save money at the insurer, though it would require billions of dollars and several years to develop, sources describing the companies' thinking told Reuters.
The companies could unveil a deal as soon as Dec. 3, according to the report. Neither CVS nor Aetna immediately responded to requests for comment.
Since reports that CVS and Aetna were in talks for a deal first surfaced in October, analysts have suggested that they could use CVS' network of stores to administer care to patients, putting healthcare, pharmacies and a pharmacy benefit manager within a single company.
