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ARTICLE · 05 NOVEMBER 2026

Why Would CVS Separate Its Retail Pharmacies And Keep Specialty Pharmacy With Caremark?

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney
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CVS Health plans to separate approximately 9,000 CVS retail pharmacies and its mail-order pharmacy business from CVS Caremark and Aetna in the first half of 2028, according to a November 3, 2026, report by The Wall Street Journal. Under the proposed structure, CVS Health would retain its insurer, its pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) and its specialty drug business. Where CVS chose to draw that line may tell us more about the company’s strategy than the decision to separate the retail stores.

United StatesFinance and Banking
Dae Lee
Dae Lee
Lucas Morgan
Lucas Morgan
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CVS Health plans to separate approximately 9,000 CVS retail pharmacies and its mail-order pharmacy business from CVS Caremark and Aetna in the first half of 2028, according to a November 3, 2026, report by The Wall Street Journal. Under the proposed structure, CVS Health would retain its insurer, its pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) and its specialty drug business. Where CVS chose to draw that line may tell us more about the company’s strategy than the decision to separate the retail stores.

We suspect CVS sees greater value in keeping specialty pharmacy alongside Caremark and Aetna than it sees in continuing to own the retail chain. A stand-alone retail company would have to negotiate reimbursement rates and operate a national network of stores. CVS Health, meanwhile, would retain businesses that can influence which specialty drugs a plan covers, which pharmacies may dispense them and how much the plan pays. That is our assessment of the proposed structure. Whether CVS’s assessment

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