Report: $10B CVS-Oak Street Health Deal Could Close This Week

CVS is reportedly nearing a $10.5 billion deal to acquire Oak Street Health.

The purchase could be announced as early as this week, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday (Feb. 7), citing sources with knowledge of the matter. A CVS spokesperson declined to comment when reached by PYMNTS.

Based in Chicago, Oak Street Health is a primary care provider serving Medicare recipients and specializing in preventative care. The deal follows last year’s purchase of Signify Health for $8 billion, and marks the pharmacy giant’s ongoing effort to expand its primary care offerings.

As noted here last month, Signify uses analytics and technology to offer in-home care, and research by PYMNTS indicates the demand for using technology, and the platform model, to keep consumers connected to health services.

In the report “Healthcare in the Digital Age: Consumers See Unified Platforms as Key to Better Health,” a PYMNTS and Lynx collaboration, seven in 10 consumers said they would prefer to use a unified digital channel that lets them do everything from scheduling appointments to accessing benefits.

And CVS is far from the only major retailer pushing into the world of healthcare. Monday (Feb. 6) saw the news that grocery chain Albertsons had launched Sincerely Health, a digital health and wellness platform that can be accessed via 16 of its grocers’ apps and websites, including Safeway, Vons, Acme and Albertsons itself.

The company says the platform lets customers link to activity trackers like Fitbit or Apple Health and track their vital signs and medication schedules. In addition, it provides online pharmacy services and a telehealth connection to general practitioners.

Last month, Kroger – which announced plans to merge with Albertsons last year – announced that its Kroger Health division had teamed with pharmaceutical organizations to establish a clinical trial site network, running its own studies.

The same week brought the news that Dollar General was testing a mobile health program for customers in rural America, offering services that include yearly physical, vaccinations, lab testing and urgent care.

Topping off a busy January for retail/healthcare news, Amazon said it would begin offering Prime members discounted prescription drugs and generic medications for $5 a month, with free home delivery for Prime members.

“Navigating insurance can be a maze and getting to the pharmacy a burden,” Dr. Vin Gupta, Amazon Pharmacy’s chief medical officer, said at the time. “Sometimes that has led to poor outcomes … as new medications don’t get filled, refills don’t get picked up, and patients suffer. Aspects of our healthcare system make what should be easy, difficult.”