The $69 billion merger between CVS and Aetna will close imminently after New York signed off on the deal Monday.
The deal is now expected to close Wednesday. Aetna and CVS say that the merger will improve health-care outcomes and reduce costs immediately.
They have plans to turn CVS’s 10,000 pharmacies and clinics into community-based sites of care with nurses and other health professionals available to give diagnoses or do lab work.
The merger also means that there will no longer be any independent pharmacy benefit managers in the U.S.
The deal was cleared by the Department of Justice in October, and New York was the last state regulatory approval that the companies needed.
As part of New York’s approval, CVS and Aetna agreed to some concessions, including enhanced consumer and health insurance rate protections, privacy controls, cybersecurity compliance, and a $40 million commitment to support health insurance education and enrollment.