CVS Makes Long-Term Aetna Commitment to State

CVS Health Corporation told state regulators this week that Aetna’s headquarters will remain in Hartford—the insurance company’s home since 1853—for at least the next 10 years.
The company also pledged to will keep Aetna’s Connecticut workforce at its current level of about 5,300 employees for at least the next four years following its merger with the health insurer.
In an October 3 letter to the Connecticut Insurance Department, Rhode Island-based CVS added that it will honor Aetna’s civic and philanthropic commitments.
Those commitments include the $50 million, five-year financial aid package Aetna, Travelers, and The Hartford promised to the state’s capital city.
The three companies delivered the initial $10 million installment of that package to the city of Hartford in June.

Regulatory Review

The insurance department held a public hearing October 4 as part of the agency’s review of CVS’ planned $69 billion acquisition of Aetna.
The department is one of a number of federal and state agencies that must approve the merger deal, which gained approval from shareholders of both companies in March.
Aetna president Karen Lynch told the hearing the planned merger is the “next and most important step to put consumers at the center of their healthcare.”

CBIA president and CEO Joe Brennan spoke in support of the merger, saying the deal "will bring long-term and lasting benefit to our state."
"The combined forces of Aetna and CVS Health will bring modernization and innovation to an industry and marketplace in need of change," Brennan said.
"The possibilities are real and exciting, as healthcare consumers—and those who pay a good portion of the healthcare premium—look for new and innovative solutions to cost and access challenges."