CVS Well being Corp introduced Monday it will be closing its acquisition of house well being care providers firm Signify Well being.
The deal, which was initially agreed upon in September 2022, permits retail pharmacy chain to accumulate Signify for $30.50 per share for a complete worth of roughly $8 billion.
“Now we have nothing further to share at the moment; we’ll in fact have extra to say upon anticipated closure of the deal,” a spokesperson for CVS instructed ABC Information.
By shopping for Signify, CVS can be among the many first pharmacy chains within the U.S. to enter the at-home well being care house after constructing its profitable Minute Clinics.
Signify Well being has 1000’s of staff together with physicians, nurse practitioners and different clinicians which give a “holistic suite of medical, social, and behavioral providers to handle a person’s healthcare wants and stop opposed occasions that drive extra price, all whereas shifting providers in the direction of the house,” the corporate mentioned in a press launch.
This is how the deal might have an effect on providers together with COVID testing and abortion care.
COVID exams carried out at house
Whereas each American has been capable of both purchase at speedy at-home antigen exams at their native retailer or get them delivered to their doorways, polymerase chain response (PCR) exams have been reserved for docs’ workplaces, clinics and pharmacies.
A check swab at a CDC Covid-19 variant testing web site inside Tom Bradley Worldwide Terminal at Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, Jan. 9, 2023.
Bloomberg by way of Getty Photographs, FILE
PCR exams, which search for genetic materials from the virus, are thought of the “gold customary” relating to COVID-19 testing.
Whereas much less correct than PCR exams, antigen exams are nonetheless thought of fairly correct when utilized in folks with signs of an infection. The exams search for proteins on the floor of the virus and might ship ends in quarter-hour or much less.
CVS has been providing PCR testing at its shops however, with Signify already having a system in place offering on-site COVID screening, clinicians might be able to carry out such testing in folks’s properties.
Abortion providers
It isn’t clear how the CVS acquisition will have an effect on abortion capsules, however at-home care could possibly be offered.
In January, after a change in guidelines from the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration, each CVS and Walgreens introduced plans to hunt certification to distribute abortion capsules the place legally allowed.
Regardless of Walgreens saying it will not distribute mifepristone in 21 states after conservative attorneys basic threatened authorized motion, CVS has not mentioned will probably be doing the identical.
Even when CVS does comply with in Walgreens’ footsteps, licensed physicians might be able to prescribe capsules instantly in a lady’s house in states the place process is authorized,.
Signify Well being declined to remark to ABC Information.
Increasing well being care into rural areas
In keeping with the American Hospital Affiliation, there are simply 1,805 rural hospitals within the U.S., the most recent date for which knowledge is offered. It additionally represents a 59% lower since 2019.
A CVS location in New York, Feb. 9, 2023.
Bloomberg by way of Getty Photographs, FILE
What’s extra, a January report from the Middle for Healthcare High quality and Fee Reform discovered that 631 rural hospitals — or roughly 30% — are at instant danger or excessive danger of closing as a result of low monetary reserves or being too depending on sure types of income similar to state subsidies.
By comparability, CVS has greater than 9,000 shops throughout the nation.
The acquisition might enable the corporate to have the ability to attain historically underserved communities that reside distant from metropolitan areas.