27 September 2018 - Aetna has confirmed it will sell its Medicare drug plans to WellCare Health Plans for an undisclosed sum as the insurer and CVS Health work to satisfy federal antitrust regulators and complete their merger.

Aetna said the business being divested to Wellcare has about 2.2 million members. Thus, the divestiture should help Aetna and CVS win U.S. Justice Department approval of the insurer's sale to the large U.S. pharmacy chain.

Wellcare, which recently acquired a pharmacy benefit manager, had been mentioned as a potential buyer of Medicare drug plans that may be sold off by Aetna and CVS as part of a deal with the U.S. Justice Department to approve their merger. It's unclear whether CVS will also sell any Medicare drug plans.

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