3 Possible CVS-Aetna Deal Effects, for Agents

October 30, 2017

Aetna

By Allison BellInsurance EditorThinkAdvisor

The Wall Street Journal set off a stock trading frenzy Thursday by reporting rumors that Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based CVS Corp. is offering about $60 billion to acquire Hartford, Connecticut-based Aetna Inc.

A sentimental insurance agent or broker’s immediate reaction to the news of the CVS-Aetna deal rumors might be: How sad.

Aetna is not the biggest major medical players, but it’s probably the best known. Aetna has been in business since 1853, and it’s been offering health insurance since 1899. When members of the Supreme Court were debating a federal employee benefits law case in March, and they were hunting around for the name of an insurance company to use in a hypothetical example, they talked about Aetna.

But time marches forward, and the traditional commercial major medical is now a tough market, plagued by unpredictable policy moves in Washington. Read more…