As CVS Health continues to promote the provision of more health services, it sees an opportunity that can affect the cost and outcome of care for patients and health plan members.
The company is in Plans to redesign thousands of its stores, There is more space dedicated to clinical services.It also provides health guidance and nutritionists in some of its stores. Recently Trial to provide mental health services Some of its MinuteClinics are equipped with licensed social workers.
At the same time, insurance subsidiary Aetna also Launch of a virtual primary care plan Earlier this year, this will guide people through the face-to-face services of Teladoc or CVS’s MinuteClinics for virtual visits without out-of-pocket costs.
CVS CEO Karen Lynch said on an investor conference call on Wednesday morning: “Consumers are greatly challenged by the complexity of the healthcare system.” “Our overall strategy is to ensure that we can provide them with lower cost and quality Higher access points, greater convenience, and higher overall participation. We believe these factors will help us develop long-term strategies to reduce healthcare costs.”
Currently, 750,000 people are eligible to participate in the virtual primary health care program launched by Aetna in August. In primary care, the company sees an opportunity to influence the cost of care by better attracting patients and guiding them through the medical system.
“We started to gain the favor of Aetna members through these plans and designs, and we think we have done a good job in this regard,” she said.
Here are more highlights of the company’s third quarter earnings conference call:
Delta variant causes a surge in Covid-19 testing and hospitalizations
For CVS’s insurance business, the surge in Covid-19 cases driven by the Delta variant caused higher-than-expected medical expenses this fall. The company reported that the medical benefit ratio for the quarter ended September 2021 was 85.8%, an increase of 1.8% over the same period last year.
CVS Chief Financial Officer Shawn Guertin said that the number of Covid-19 hospitalizations in its August and September business plan is consistent with the peak level in January 2021, almost three times the number of hospitalizations when there were fewer cases in the summer.
The test cost, which is also expected to fall, is basically the same as the January level. They accounted for approximately 35% of the company’s Covid-19 costs in the quarter.
More people filled out new prescriptions
For CVS’s largest pharmacy services division, revenue increased by 9% to $39 billion. This is mainly driven by the Covid-19 vaccine and more and more people are starting to write new prescriptions.
In the third quarter, CVS received 11.6 million vaccines. In comparison, it performed 17 million injections in the second quarter of 2021. The company is preparing for more injections with Covid-19 boosters and pediatric doses. FDA recently authorized The low-dose version of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine is suitable for children between 5 and 11 years of age.
Compared with last year, the company also processed more pharmacy claims. As the doctor’s office was temporarily closed when the pandemic began, the procedure was postponed or cancelled, The number of new prescriptions will decline in 2020.
In total, CVS reports revenue of $73.79 billion for the quarter, An increase of 10% over last year, and net income of US$1.59 billion, an increase of 30%.
Photo Credit: CVS Health
