Look for CVS to Expand in Chronic Care Management

With CVS Health’s launch of several HealthHUB stores and plans to launch other outlets in Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia, many have been speculating about whether the company’s strategy is now centered on primary care.

That’s not quite how CEO Larry Merlo sees things. Instead, CVS selected its first three HealthHUB markets in Atlanta, Philadelphia and Tampa due to the high incidence of CVS customers and Aetna members with chronic disease in those regions, Merlo recently explained to Healthcare Dive.

Merlo says that the company plans to be more active in the $2.6 trillion chronic care management market. In April, CVS and its payer arm Aetna launched a kidney disease management service for patients with chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease. Aetna members with these conditions can be stratified into risk buckets and will receive targeted care management resources at CVS stores. The company is expected to expand similar care management services to the diabetes patient population.