Retailers marched more boldly into healthcare in 2022, making several major acquisitions with big price tags. Interestingly, a theme that cuts across all the deals emerged: access, MedCity News reports.
The key players were Amazon, CVS Health and Walgreens. Amazon announced in July that it plans to acquire primary care provider One Medical for about $3.9 billion. Shortly after, CVS Health made headlines when it said it will purchase home health company Signify Health for nearly $8 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance, meanwhile, made moves in both home health and primary care. It announced in October that it will acquire its remaining 45% stake in home care company CareCentrix for $392 million and that its VillageMD business will buy Summit Health-CityMD for $8.9 billion. In September, Walgreens also announced that it is acquiring the remaining 30% stake of specialty pharmacy company Shields Health Solutions for $1.37 billion.
Regardless of the play or the playmaker, it’s obvious that retailers are trying to reach more consumers in more convenient places, one expert said. Read more.
