The planned separation will create two entities, company announced Wednesday (Nov. 4). The first is CVS Health, a “healthcare solutions company” made up of Aetna, CVS Caremark, CVS Specialty, Oak Street Health and Signify Health.
The second is CVS Pharmacy, a “retail pharmacy and community healthcare company,” comprising around 9,000 CVS pharmacies, mail pharmacy, MinuteClinic (virtual care included), and the Health100 technology services business.
“Our history is defined by proactively evolving to stay ahead of what’s next in healthcare, and in today’s environment, that means delivering more affordability, greater access, and a simpler experience,” CVS Health CEO David Joyner said in a news release.
“Over the last two years, we have made meaningful progress: we built a world-class leadership team, strengthened our financials, revitalized operations across the enterprise, and drove total shareholder return. From a position of strength, and a focus on the long term, we plan to create two focused companies to improve consumer engagement, affordability, and care coordination.”
Upon separation, Joyner will become chairman and CEO of the healthcare solutions company, while Prem Shah, the current president of CVS Health, will become CEO of CVS Pharmacy.
While the newly separated CVS Health focuses on improving “healthcare outcomes and experiences,” CVS Pharmacy will continue to expand its services and “pursue a wider set of partnerships across the healthcare system,” the release added.
Both companies will continue to focus on advancing healthcare technology, citing the example of Health100, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based platform CVS recently launched. Developed with Google Cloud, the tool is designed to give consumers support from doctors, pharmacies and insurance providers. PYMNTS wrote about the tool earlier this year in a report on agentic AI’s role in the health field.
“Agentic AI’s near-term healthcare value is strongest where coordination breaks down,” that report said.
“Prior authorization, patient navigation and trial matching each require multiple systems, repeated follow-up and careful handling of sensitive information. With firm controls and human review, agents could reduce those administrative gaps while helping patients reach approved care, follow-up services and experimental treatments faster.”
The separation announcement follows reports from earlier this year that CVS was planning to expand its retail footprint following four years of contraction, opening 60 stores during 2026.
The company had closed 1,100 locations in recent years against the backdrop of larger upheaval in the retail pharmacy world: Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy and Walgreens was acquired by a private equity outfit.
