Bringing Change to Health Care: Merlo at Economic Club of Washington, D.C.

Larry Merlo, President and Chief Executive Officer for CVS Health, presented to the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. — a forum for business leaders and policymakers to address top social and economic issues — to share his vision for transforming health care for Americans. Merlo emphasized how the combination of CVS Health and Aetna will improve health care by bringing care closer to home and helping patients manage their conditions more seamlessly. According to Merlo, the combined company will play a critical role in complementing primary care, which will in turn improve health outcomes.

To illustrate how the combined company will integrate care delivery for patients, Merlo shared an example of “Diane” — a hypothetical patient newly-diagnosed with diabetes. Consider, for example, that “Diane” leaves the doctor’s office with a new care plan including instructions for a new medication, lab instructions to measure her blood sugar levels and instructions for diet and exercise regimens. But will she know how to execute her care plan effectively? Her doctor has warned her that if she doesn’t get her blood sugar under control, her risk increases significantly for diabetes-related complications like heart damage and kidney damage. It is at this point where she is not just a patient; she is now a consumer of health care. 

“This is where the combination of CVS Health and Aetna can make a difference. We can leverage our community assets to deliver more targeted and timely interventions,” said Merlo.  “Whereas a patient might only see his or her physician four to five times a year, they will likely to see their pharmacist as many as 18-24 times in the same year. With a presence in 10,000 communities across the country, our combined company will be able to offer many options to access care — whether in the community at retail pharmacies and clinics, in the home, or through digital tools.” 

Serving as a Trusted Resource in the Community 

David Rubenstein, President of the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., asked Merlo about the role of the pharmacist and how they can help patients manage their health and well-being. Merlo emphasized how pharmacists — as the most accessible health care professionals — expand access to community care, offering a knowledgeable and trustworthy touchpoint for medication management, preventive services and advice in between doctor’s visits.

Convenient, Extended Access to Quality Care 

When asked about the care available at our 1,100 MinuteClinic locations nationwide, Merlo highlighted how nurse practitioners and physician assistants help complement primary care by providing 125 health services during evening and weekend hours. MinuteClinic was the first retail clinic to receive a Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission — helping provide peace of mind that care delivered conveniently can also be high-quality.

For more information about CVS Health’s efforts to improve access to quality care across the nation, visit our Quality & Access information center and the CVS Health Impact Dashboard. To stay informed about the latest updates and innovations from CVS Health, register for content alerts and our bi-weekly health care newsletter.

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This communication is for informational purposes only and not intended to and does not constitute an offer to subscribe for, buy or sell, the solicitation of an offer to subscribe for, buy or sell or an invitation to subscribe for, buy or sell any securities or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction pursuant to or in connection with the proposed transaction or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and otherwise in accordance with applicable law.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

In connection with the proposed transaction between CVS Health Corporation ("CVS Health") and Aetna Inc. ("Aetna"), CVS Health filed a registration statement on Form S-4 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which includes a joint proxy statement of CVS Health and Aetna that also constitutes a prospectus of CVS Health. The registration statement was declared effective by the SEC on February 9, 2018, and CVS Health and Aetna commenced mailing the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus to stockholders of CVS Health and shareholders of Aetna on or about February 12, 2018, and the special meeting of the stockholders of CVS Health and the shareholders of Aetna was held on March 13, 2018. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF CVS HEALTH AND AETNA ARE URGED TO READ THE DEFINITIVE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN OR WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of the registration statement and the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC by CVS Health or Aetna through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by CVS Health are available free of charge within the Investors section of CVS Health's Web site at http://www.cvshealth.com/investors or by contacting CVS Health's Investor Relations Department at 800-201-0938. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Aetna are available free of charge on Aetna's internet website at http://www.Aetna.com or by contacting Aetna's Investor Relations Department at 860-273-0896.

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The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Reform Act") provides a safe harbor for forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of CVS Health or Aetna. This communication may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Reform Act. You can generally identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "can," "continue," "could," "estimate," "evaluate," "expect," "explore," "forecast," "guidance," "intend," "likely," "may," "might," "outlook," "plan," "potential," "predict," "probable," "project," "seek," "should," "view," or "will," or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond CVS Health's and Aetna's control.

Statements in this communication that are forward-looking, including projections as to the closing date for the pending acquisition of Aetna (the "transaction"), the extent of, and the time necessary to obtain, the regulatory approvals required for the transaction, the anticipated benefits of the transaction, the impact of the transaction on CVS Health's and Aetna's businesses, the expected terms and scope of the expected financing for the transaction, the ownership percentages of CVS Health's common stock of CVS Health stockholders and Aetna shareholders at closing, the aggregate amount of indebtedness of CVS Health following the closing of the transaction, CVS Health's expectations regarding debt repayment and its debt to capital ratio following the closing of the transaction, CVS Health's and Aetna's respective share repurchase programs and ability and intent to declare future dividend payments, the number of prescriptions used by people served by the combined companies' pharmacy benefit business, the synergies from the transaction, and CVS Health's, Aetna's and/or the combined company's future operating results, are based on CVS Health's and Aetna's managements' estimates, assumptions and projections, and are subject to significant uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond their control. In particular, projected financial information for the combined businesses of CVS Health and Aetna is based on estimates, assumptions and projections and has not been prepared in conformance with the applicable accounting requirements of Regulation S-X relating to pro forma financial information, and the required pro forma adjustments have not been applied and are not reflected therein. None of this information should be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, the historical financial statements of CVS Health and Aetna. Important risk factors related to the transaction could cause actual future results and other future events to differ materially from those currently estimated by management, including, but not limited to: the timing to consummate the proposed transaction; the risk that a regulatory approval that may be required for the proposed transaction is delayed, is not obtained or is obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated; the risk that a condition to the closing of the proposed transaction may not be satisfied; the outcome of litigation related to the transaction; the ability to achieve the synergies and value creation contemplated; CVS Health's ability to promptly and effectively integrate Aetna's businesses; and the diversion of and attention of management of both CVS Health and Aetna on transaction-related issues.

In addition, this communication may contain forward-looking statements regarding CVS Health's or Aetna's respective businesses, financial condition and results of operations. These forward-looking statements also involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, some of which may not be presently known to CVS Health or Aetna or that they currently believe to be immaterial also may cause CVS Health's or Aetna's actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, adversely impact their respective businesses, CVS Health's ability to complete the transaction and/or CVS Health's ability to realize the expected benefits from the transaction. Should any risks and uncertainties develop into actual events, these developments could have a material adverse effect on the transaction and/or CVS Health or Aetna, CVS Health's ability to successfully complete the transaction and/or realize the expected benefits from the transaction. Additional information concerning these risks, uncertainties and assumptions can be found in CVS Health's and Aetna's respective filings with the SEC, including the risk factors discussed in "Item 1.A. Risk Factors" in CVS Health's and Aetna's most recent Annual Reports on Form 10-K, as updated by their Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and future filings with the SEC.

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