Letter to the Hon. Greg Walden, Committee on Energy and Commerce - Calls for Hearings on Proposed CVS Health-Aetna Merger

Letter

Dear Chairman Walden:

I am writing to request you hold a hearing on the recent proposed merger of CVS Health-Aetna. The pharmacy company, CVS Health, and the nation's third largest health insurer, Aetna, recently proposed a $69 billion merger. The subsequent operation would be a new frontier in American healthcare delivery -- with significant potential for benefit or harm to consumers across the country.

The merger is the most recent development in an ongoing trend of consolidation and market concentration in our healthcare system. In recent years, various types of mergers and acquisitions in the healthcare system have become more common, especially across traditionally separate lines of business. The newly proposed merger of CVS Health and Aetna is the most recent example, and perhaps the largest. Increasingly, health systems are offering health insurance and insurers are buying or partnering with health care providers. In addition, large corporations such as Amazon are considering pharmacy or healthcare operations, expanding their businesses in completely new directions.

As the business of healthcare continues to morph, it is critical that Congress closely examine the changing relationships among healthcare entities and the impact these changing relationships have on the way healthcare is delivered in this country.

The Committee, in particular, has an ongoing responsibility to evaluate and consider these changes to our healthcare system, so as to better understand the impact on consumers, patients, and providers. Due to the scale of the CVS Health-Aetna merger, these changes should be thoroughly scrutinized and understood by the members of this Committee.

I encourage you to schedule a hearing on this important matter as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

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