Mentioning a nationwide shortage of primary care providers, millions of patients newly insured through the Affordable Care Act, and an aging population, Andrew Sussman, MD, president of CVS’s MinuteClinic division, said, “Minute- Clinic can help to meet that demand, collaborating with local provider groups, as part of a larger health care team” (Nesi 2014).

MinuteClinic started in 2000 and as of late 2017 had more than 1,000 locations (CVS 2017). Its clinics are staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants, rather than physicians. The clinics are open seven days a week and appointments are not needed. The nurse practitioners and physician assistants diagnose, treat, and write prescriptions for a variety of common illnesses. MinuteClinics show customers the prices of care (typically less than the prices in a physician’s office) and usually accept insurance. Most clinics are in CVS pharmacies, although an increasing number are in other sites and some have connections with local health systems.

In late December 2017, CVS Health announced an agreement to buy the health insurer Aetna. Some have suggested that this move could reshape the healthcare industry by integrating insurance with a provider organization (Abelson and Thomas 2017).

Discussion Questions

• For what products is MinuteClinic a substitute?

• For what products is it a complement?

• How would continued expansion of MinuteClinics affect revenues of primary care practices?

• What attributes other than prices would make MinuteClinics attractive to patients?

• Is the supply of primary care physicians large enough to meet current levels of demand?

• Would you expect expansion of MinuteClinics to increase or decrease spending? Why?

• What are the implications of Aetna’s sale to CVS?

• A common criticism is that MinuteClinics locate in well-to-do areas. Is this a concern?