Dec 3, 2017

CVS strikes deal to buy Aetna for $69 billion

A CVS drugstore and pharmacy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Photo: Matt Rourke / AP

CVS Health, which has been in talks to buy the health insurance company Aetna, will make the purchase for $69 billion in cash and stock, the Wall Street Journal reports. The merger will bring together health insurance and pharmacy services in the same company.

Why it matters, per Axios' Bob Herman: CVS and Aetna, which already have a pharmacy contract together, join to create a behemoth health care company with roughly $240 billion in annual revenue and substantial bargaining power over hospitals, drug makers and employers. Only Walmart will be bigger than CVS in terms of annual revenue among U.S. companies. The deal also displaces UnitedHealth Group as the largest health insurer and pharmacy benefits manager.

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Rebecca Falconer

Trump administration asks Congress for $2.5 billion to fight coronavirus

President Trump with Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar at the White House in September. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Trump administration sent a letter to Congress Monday requesting a funding commitment of at least $2.5 billion to help combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Details: The request for a lump sum account for the Department of Health and Human Services includes $1.25 billion in new funds to fight COVID-19 and $535 would come from untouched funds for the Ebola virus.

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Axios

WHO won't call coronavirus a pandemic as cases spread

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

The World Health Organization will not yet call the coronavirus a pandemic, claiming that needs across affected countries are too varied and the classification would increase fear, per a briefing Monday.

The big picture: As South Korea and Italy stepped up emergency measures in efforts to thwart the spread of the virus, WHO expressed concern about infections with no clear link to China. COVID-19 has killed at least 2,620 people and infected almost 80,000 others, with all but 27 deaths occurring in mainland China.

Go deeperUpdated 3 hours ago - Health

Dave Lawler

The global scramble to contain the coronavirus

Taking precaution, in the Philippines. Photo: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

The coronavirus is spreading quickly in cities nowhere near Wuhan, China, and the window to prevent a global pandemic is narrowing.

Zoom in: Here's a look at what comes with a coronavirus outbreak in communities outside China that have been hardest hit so far.

Go deeper3 hours ago - World