CVS Health's growth strategy is centered on primary care.
"Think about primary care as the quarterback to your healthcare," CVS CEO Karen Lynch told CNBC in a Jan. 9 report. "When we're in the home, we get to open up the refrigerator and see if you're eating well. We get to look and see if there's rugs that you might trip on."
CVS is moving ahead with plans to build dozens of Oak Street Health's senior-focused primary care clinics near its pharmacies after buying the company in 2023 for $10.6 billion, despite plans to cut $700 million to $800 million in costs this year.
"Oak Street Health has been the bellwether for innovation in the primary care space," Richard Zane, MD, chief innovation officer of Aurora, Colo.-based UCHealth, told Becker's in May 2023. "A lot to like and emulate about their approach, their financials and, most importantly, their patient outcomes, making them a smart acquisition target and giving CVS Health a great opportunity to move quickly. Looks like Amazon with One Medical and now CVS with Oak Street Health are not dabbling."
CVS now owns Oak Street's more than 170 primary care clinics and expects to have more than 300 locations by 2026. In total, CVS Health has 1,100 MinuteClinic locations in 36 states and Washington, D.C.
Additionally, in March 2023, CVS Health completed its $8 billion acquisition of Signify Health, adding more than 10,000 clinicians to its network.
CVS Health recorded $2 billion in profit in the fourth quarter of 2023, a 12% decline year over year driven by increased pressure in its Medicare Advantage business. Revenues from CVS' pharmacy benefit and healthcare provider business increased 10.3% in 2023, for full-year revenue of $186.8 billion in 2023. The acquisitions of Signify and Oak Street Health and growth in specialty pharmacy drove the increase, the company said.
In February, CVS Health closed 25 of its MinuteClinic locations across Los Angeles to ensure patient and consumer demands align with its healthcare delivery strategy.