Be wary — CVS is building a health care empire
I was disappointed that the May 5 editorial about the potential affiliation of CVS with Mass General Brigham in order to build primary care practices made no mention of the “captive strategy” CVS Health is building to monopolize health care (“CVS affiliation with MGB could increase primary care access, but at what cost?”).
In January, at a congressional hearing of the Health Subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York used that phrase as she spelled out the many companies CVS Health Group owns. They include Aetna, a health insurance company; CVS Caremark, a pharmacy benefit manager, and CVS Pharmacies; and Oak Street Health medical clinics that operate in more than 25 states.
Monopoly power does not lower health costs or improve patient health. How could a patient trust that the drug being prescribed by a CVS clinician to purchase at a CVS pharmacy is chosen in the patient’s best interest rather than that of the company’s bottom line?
In spite of the need for more primary care access, this affiliation is not the solution. I sincerely hope it is prevented.
Barbara Magee
Concord
Firms should be lauded for addressing primary care shortage
In an article last month headlined “Study finds concern with MGB, CVS deal” Marin Wolf cited an estimate from the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission that the planned collaboration between Mass General Brigham and CVS could increase commercial health spending by more than $40 million a year. However, the article left the question open as to whether the estimate was specific to expenditures for primary care or applied to total health care costs.
Everything I know about health care delivery and costs suggests that the increase would be for primary care but that the impact on total medical costs will be a net decrease. While primary care directly accounts for a small fraction of total health care costs, it affects a considerable portion of total cost. This is because of the impact that primary care physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners have on patient education, specialty care referrals, hospital utilization, and prescriptions.
MGB and CVS should be applauded for their innovative proposal to address the longstanding shortage of primary care services.
Ernie Bourassa
Yarmouth Port
The writer worked in the health care industry for 35 years and retired in 2021 after 24 years at UnitedHealth Group.