CVS Could Make $10 Billion Acquisition Of Senior Primary Care Clinics

The giant drugstore chain CVS Health Corp. is nearing an agreement to acquire Oak Street Health Inc., which would rapidly expand the company’s footprint of primary-care doctors.  This deal would balloon  its network of medical facilities specializing in senior health.  The deal is massive at roughly $10.5 billion and could be announced as early as next week.  The transaction would follow CVS’s $8 billion agreement to acquire home-care provider Signify Health Inc.  Oak Street has 160 centers across 21 states, focused on the care of patients enrolled in Medicare.

Monterey, CA Seniors Turning To Telehealth Amidst Coronavirus Pandemic : By Derek Baine

More and more seniors are turning to Telehealth programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  “When you’re not feeling well, having to get up, get dressed and drive all the way to the hospital and then get in line and then possibly get sick from someone else is not all that appealing,” Marla Jo Fisher, a writer, told AARP Bulletin.  Medicare is expanding coverage of telehealth visits during the pandemic, changes which hopefully will remain in place.  The Department of Health and Human Services recently reported that less than 1% of primary care visits in February were via Telehealth, a number which jumped to 43.5% in April.  California has a bill going into effect on January 1 requiring all insurers to pay for Telehealth visits.  If your doctor isn’t using Telehealth, talk to Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, CHOMP, on suggestions.

https://www.chomp.org/find-a-doctor/doctor-search-results/?termId=a826e4db-730c-e611-9cf8-005056a462a1#.X9fgodhKjcs