Item 1. Business

 

Overview

 

CVS Health Corporation, together with its subsidiaries (collectively “CVS Health,” the “Company,” “we,” “our” or “us”), is a pharmacy innovation company helping people on their path to better health. At the forefront of a changing health care landscape, the Company has an unmatched suite of capabilities and the expertise needed to drive innovations that will help shape the future of health.

We are currently the only integrated pharmacy health care company with the ability to impact consumers, payors, and providers with innovative, channel-agnostic solutions to complex challenges managing costs and care. We have a deep understanding of their diverse needs through our unique integrated model, and we are bringing them innovative solutions that help increase access to quality care, deliver better health outcomes, and lower overall health care costs.

Through our approximately 9,600 retail pharmacies, more than 1,100 walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with more than 75 million plan members, a dedicated senior pharmacy care business serving more than one million patients per year, and expanding specialty pharmacy services, we enable people, businesses, and communities to manage health in more affordable, effective ways. We are delivering break-through products and services, from advising patients on their medications at our CVS Pharmacy ^® locations, to introducing unique programs to help control costs for our clients at CVS Caremark ^® , to innovating how care is delivered to our patients with complex conditions through CVS Specialty ^TM , to improving pharmacy care for the senior community through Omnicare ^® , or by expanding access to high-quality, low-cost care at CVS MinuteClinic ^TM .

We have three reportable segments: Pharmacy Services, Retail/LTC and Corporate.

 

Pharmacy Services Segment

 

The Pharmacy Services Segment provides a full range of pharmacy benefit management (“PBM”) solutions, as described more fully below, to our clients consisting primarily of employers, insurance companies, unions, government employee groups, health plans, Managed Medicaid plans, plans offered on the public and private exchanges, other sponsors of health benefit plans and individuals throughout the United States. In addition, through our SilverScript Insurance Company (“SilverScript”) subsidiary, we are a national provider of drug benefits to eligible beneficiaries under the federal government’s Medicare Part D program. The Pharmacy Services Segment operates under the CVS Caremark ^®  Pharmacy Services, Caremark ^® , CVS Caremark ^® , CarePlus CVS Pharmacy ^TM , CVS Specialty ^TM , Accordant ^® , SilverScript ^® , NovoLogix ^® , Coram ^® , Navarro ^® Health Services and Advanced Care Scripts names. As of December 31, 2015, the Pharmacy Services Segment operated 24 retail specialty pharmacy stores, 11 specialty mail order pharmacies and five mail order dispensing pharmacies, and 83 branches for infusion and enteral services, including approximately 73 ambulatory infusion suites and six centers of excellence, located in 40 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. During the year ended December 31, 2015, our PBM filled or managed approximately 1.0 billion prescriptions.

 

Pharmacy Services Business Strategy - Our business strategy centers on providing innovative tools and strategies, as well as quality client service in order to help improve clinical outcomes for our clients’ health benefit plan members while assisting our clients and their plan members in better managing overall health care costs. Our goal is to produce superior results for our clients and their plan members by leveraging our expertise in core PBM services, including: plan design offerings and administration, formulary management, Medicare Part D services, mail order, specialty pharmacy and infusion services, retail pharmacy network management services, prescription management systems, clinical services, disease management services and medical spend management.

 

In addition, as a fully integrated pharmacy services company, we are able to offer our clients and their plan members a variety of programs, tools and plan designs that benefit from our integrated systems and the ability of our more than 34,000 pharmacists, nurses, nurse practitioners and physician assistants to interact personally with the many plan members. Through our multiple member touch points (retail stores, mail order, infusion, long-term care and specialty pharmacies, retail medical clinics, call centers, prescription management services, proprietary websites and mobile devices), we seek to engage plan members in behaviors that help lower cost and improve health care outcomes. Examples of these programs and services include: Maintenance Choice ^® , a program where eligible client plan members can elect to fill their maintenance prescriptions at our retail pharmacy stores for the same price as mail order; Pharmacy Advisor ^® , a program that facilitates face-to-face and telephone counseling by our pharmacists to help participating plan members with certain chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular conditions, to identify gaps in care, adhere to their prescribed medications and manage their health conditions;

compliance and persistency programs designed to help ensure that patients take their medications in the proper manner; enhanced disease management programs that are targeted at managing chronic disease states; Specialty Connect ^TM , our integrated specialty pharmacy offering which integrates specialty mail and retail capabilities, providing members with disease-state specific counseling from our experienced specialty pharmacists and the choice to bring their specialty prescriptions to a CVS Pharmacy location or submit it through our specialty mail order pharmacies; and an ExtraCare ^®  Health Card program which offers discounts to eligible plan members on certain over-the-counter health care products sold in our CVS Pharmacy stores. In addition, MinuteClinic ^® is an important and differentiated part of the enterprise that offers certain capabilities to PBM clients and their members. For example, we offer plan sponsored co-pay reductions to encourage use of MinuteClinic, thereby reducing emergency room visits and helping to lower overall health care costs. Other ways we are working with our clients include partnerships with health plan clients sponsoring patient centered medical homes, biometric screenings for plan members, closing gaps in care, and onsite clinics at client corporate headquarters.

PBM Services - Our PBM solutions are described more fully below.

 

Plan Design Offerings and Administration - Our clients sponsor pharmacy benefit plans that facilitate the ability of eligible members in these plans to receive prescribed medications. We assist our clients in designing pharmacy benefit plans that help minimize the costs to the client while prioritizing the welfare and safety of the clients’ members and helping improve health outcomes. We also administer these benefit plans selected by our clients and assist them in monitoring the effectiveness of these plans through frequent, informal communications, their use of our proprietary software, as well as through a formal annual client review.

 

We make recommendations to our clients helping them to design benefit plans promoting the use of the lower cost, clinically appropriate drugs. We help our clients control costs by offering plan designs that encourage the use of generic equivalents of brand name drugs when such equivalents are available. Our clients also have the option, through plan design, to further lower their pharmacy benefit plan costs by setting different member payment levels for different products on their drug lists or “formularies”.

 

Formulary Management - We utilize an independent panel of doctors, pharmacists and other medical experts, referred to as our Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, to select drugs that meet the highest standards of safety and efficacy for inclusion on our formularies. Our formularies provide recommended products in numerous drug classes to ensure member access to clinically appropriate alternatives under the client’s pharmacy benefit plan. To help improve clinical outcomes for members and clients, we conduct ongoing, independent reviews of all drugs, including, but not limited to, those appearing on the formularies and generic equivalent products, as well as our clinical programs. Many of our clients choose to adopt our template formulary offerings as part of their plan design.

 

Medicare Part D Services - We participate in the administration of the drug benefit added to the Medicare program under Part D of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (“MMA”) through the provision of PBM services to our health plan clients and other clients that have qualified as Medicare Part D prescription drug plans (“PDP”) and by offering Medicare Part D pharmacy benefits through SilverScript, a PDP approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”). We also assist employer, union and other health plan clients that qualify for the retiree drug subsidy made available under the MMA by collecting and submitting eligibility and/or drug cost data to CMS in order for them to obtain the subsidy.

 

Mail Order Pharmacy - As of December 31, 2015, we operated five mail order dispensing pharmacies in the United States. Plan members or their prescribers submit prescriptions or refill requests, primarily for maintenance medications, to these pharmacies via mail, telephone, fax, e-prescribing or the Internet. We also operate a network of smaller mail order specialty pharmacies described below. Our staff pharmacists review mail order prescriptions and refill requests with the assistance of our prescription management systems. This review may involve communications with the prescriber and, with the prescriber’s approval when required, can result in generic substitution, therapeutic interchange or other actions designed to help reduce cost and/or improve quality of treatment. These pharmacies have been awarded Mail Order Pharmacy accreditation from Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (“URAC”), a Washington DC-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry.

 

Specialty Pharmacy - Our specialty pharmacies support individuals who require complex and expensive drug therapies. As of December 31, 2015, our specialty pharmacy operations included 11 specialty mail order pharmacies located throughout the United States that are used for delivery of advanced medications to individuals with chronic or genetic diseases and disorders. Substantially all of these pharmacies have been accredited by the Joint Commission, which is an independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies nearly 21,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. These pharmacies have also been awarded Specialty Pharmacy accreditation from URAC. As of December 31, 2015, the Company

operated a network of 24 retail specialty pharmacy stores, which operate under the CarePlus CVS Pharmacy ^TM  and Navarro ^® Health Services names. These stores average 1,100 square feet in size and sell prescription drugs and a limited assortment of front store items such as alternative medications, homeopathic remedies and vitamins. In January 2014, we enhanced our offerings of specialty infusion services and began offering enteral nutrition services through Coram LLC and its subsidiaries (collectively, “Coram”), which we acquired on January 16, 2014. Coram is one of the nation’s largest providers of comprehensive infusion services, caring for approximately 140,000 patients annually. In May 2014, we implemented Specialty Connect ^TM , which integrates our specialty pharmacy mail and retail capabilities, providing members with disease-state specific counseling from our experienced specialty pharmacists and the choice to bring their specialty prescriptions to a CVS Pharmacy location. Whether submitted through our mail order pharmacy or at a CVS Pharmacy, all prescriptions are filled through our specialty mail order pharmacies, so all revenue from this specialty prescription services program is recorded within the Pharmacy Services Segment. Members then can choose to pick up their medication at their local CVS Pharmacy or have it sent to their home through the mail. In August 2015, with the acquisition of Omnicare, Inc. (“Omnicare”), we expanded our specialty pharmacy to include the specialty pharmacy operations of Omnicare which operates under the name Advanced Care Scripts.

Retail Pharmacy Network Management - We maintain a national network of more than 68,000 retail pharmacies, consisting of approximately 41,000 chain pharmacies (which includes our CVS Pharmacy stores) and 27,000 independent pharmacies, in the United States, Puerto Rico, District of Columbia, Guam and the Virgin Islands. When a customer fills a prescription in a retail pharmacy, the pharmacy sends prescription data electronically to us from the point-of-sale. This data interfaces with our proprietary prescription management systems, which verify relevant plan member data and eligibility, while also performing a drug utilization review to help evaluate clinical appropriateness and safety and confirming that the pharmacy will receive payment for the prescription.

 

Prescription Management Systems - We dispense prescription drugs both directly, through one of our mail order or specialty pharmacies, or through a network of retail pharmacies, described above. All prescriptions processed through our systems, whether they are filled through one of our mail order or specialty dispensing pharmacies or through a pharmacy in our retail network, are analyzed, processed and documented by our proprietary prescription management systems. These systems provide essential features and functionality to allow a plan member to apply their prescription drug benefit. These systems also streamline the process by which prescriptions are processed by staff and network pharmacists, by automating review of various items, including, but not limited to, plan eligibility, early refills, duplicate dispensing, appropriateness of dosage, drug interactions or allergies, over-utilization and potential fraud.

 

Clinical Services - We offer multiple clinical programs and services to help clients manage overall pharmacy and health care costs in a clinically appropriate manner. Our programs are primarily designed to promote safety, and to help target inappropriate utilization and non-adherence to medication, each of which may result in adverse medical events that negatively impact member health and client pharmacy and medical spend. In this regard, we offer various utilization management, medication management, quality assurance, adherence and counseling programs to complement the client’s plan design and clinical strategies.

 

Disease Management Programs - Our clinical services utilize advanced protocols and offer clients convenience in working with health care providers and other third parties. Our Accordant ^®  programs include integrated rare disease management programs, which cover diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, seizure disorders and multiple sclerosis. The majority of these integrated programs are accredited by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (“NCQA”), a private, not-for-profit organization that evaluates, accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. They have also been awarded Case Management Accreditation from URAC.

Medical Pharmacy Management - We offer a technology platform that helps identify and capture cost savings opportunities for specialty drugs billed under the medical benefit by identifying outliers to appropriate dosages and costs, and helps to ensure appropriate clinical use of these drugs.

 

Pharmacy Services Information Systems - We currently operate and support a small number of claim adjudication platforms to support our Pharmacy Services Segment. However, the majority of our clients have migrated to one destination platform. These information systems incorporate architecture that centralizes the data generated from filling mail order prescriptions, adjudicating retail pharmacy claims and delivering other solutions to our PBM clients.

 

Pharmacy Services Clients - Our clients are primarily employers, insurance companies, unions, government employee groups, health plans, Managed Medicaid plans and plans offered on public and private exchanges, other sponsors of health benefit plans and individuals located throughout the United States. We provide pharmaceuticals to eligible members in benefit plans maintained by our clients and utilize our information systems, among other things, to help perform safety checks, drug

interaction screening and identify opportunities for generic substitution. We generate substantially all of our Pharmacy Services Segment net revenue from dispensing and managing prescription drugs to eligible members in benefit plans maintained by our clients. No single PBM client accounts for 10% or more of our annual consolidated revenues.

 

Pharmacy Services Seasonality - The majority of our Pharmacy Services Segment revenues are not seasonal in nature. However, our quarterly earnings and operating cash flows are impacted by the Medicare Part D benefit design and changes in the composition of our membership. The Medicare Part D standard benefit design results in coverage that varies with a member's cumulative annual out-of-pocket costs. The benefit design generally results in plan sponsors sharing a greater portion of the responsibility for total prescription drug costs in the early part of the year. As a result, the PDP plan pay percentage or benefit ratio generally decreases and operating profit generally increases as the year progresses.

Pharmacy Services Competition - We believe the primary competitive factors in the industry include: (i) the ability to negotiate favorable discounts from drug manufacturers; (ii) the ability to negotiate favorable discounts from, and access to, retail pharmacy networks; (iii) responsiveness to clients’ needs; (iv) the ability to identify and apply effective cost management programs utilizing clinical strategies; (v) the ability to develop and utilize preferred formularies; (vi) the ability to market PBM products and services; (vii) the commitment to provide flexible, clinically-oriented services to clients; (viii) the quality, scope and costs of products and services offered to clients and their members, and (ix) operational excellence in delivering services. The Pharmacy Services Segment has a significant number of competitors offering PBM services including large, national PBM companies (e.g., Express Scripts), PBMs owned by large national health plans (e.g., OptumRx) and smaller standalone PBMs (e.g., Prime Therapeutics and MedImpact).

 

Retail/LTC Segment

 

As of December 31, 2015, the Retail/LTC Segment included 9,655 retail stores (of which 7,897 were our stores that operated a pharmacy and 1,672 were our pharmacies located within Target Corporation (“Target”) stores), our online retail pharmacy websites, CVS.com ^® , Navarro.com ^TM and Onofre.com.br ^TM , 32 onsite pharmacy stores, long-term care pharmacy operations and our retail health care clinics. The retail stores are located in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Brazil operating primarily under the CVS Pharmacy ^® , CVS ^® , Longs Drugs ^® , Navarro Discount Pharmacy ^® and Drogaria Onofre ^TM names. We currently operate in 98 of the top 100 United States drugstore markets and hold the number one or number two market share in 93 of these markets. The CVS Pharmacy retail drugstores sell prescription drugs and a wide assortment of over-the-counter and personal care products, beauty and cosmetic products, and general merchandise, which we refer to as “front store” products. The pharmacies within Target stores sell prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs that are required to be held behind the counter. Existing retail stores range in size from approximately 5,000 to 30,000 square feet, although most new stores range in size from approximately 8,000 to 13,000 square feet and typically include a drive-thru pharmacy. The pharmacies within Target stores range in size from approximately 450 to 1,100 square feet. During 2015, we filled approximately 1.0 billion prescriptions (counting 90-day prescriptions as three prescriptions), and we held approximately 21.7% of the United States retail pharmacy market. In 2014, our CVS Pharmacy retail drugstores became the first pharmacies in the nation to receive Community Pharmacy Accreditation from URAC.

On August 18, 2015, we completed our acquisition of Omnicare, broadening our base of pharmacy care to a new dispensing channel, long-term care pharmacy. Omnicare's long-term care (“LTC”) operations include the distribution of pharmaceuticals, related pharmacy consulting and other ancillary services to chronic care facilities and other care settings. Omnicare also provides commercialization services under the name RxCrossroads ^® . LTC is comprised of 143 spoke pharmacies that primarily handle new prescription orders, of which 32 are also hub pharmacies that use automation to support spoke pharmacies with refill prescriptions. LTC primarily operates under the Omnicare ^® and NeighborCare ^® names. With the addition of the LTC operations, we are enhancing our service offerings to address the needs of an aging population throughout the continuum of senior care.

On December 16, 2015, we completed our acquisition of the pharmacy and clinic businesses of Target. In connection with the transaction, we acquired Target's 1,672 pharmacies across 47 states and will operate them through a store-within-a-store format, branded as CVS Pharmacy ^® . In addition, a CVS Pharmacy will be included in all new Target stores that offer pharmacy services. These pharmacies sell prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs that are required to be held behind the counter. The 79 Target clinic locations we acquired will be rebranded as MinuteClinic ^® , and we expect to open up to 20 new clinics in Target stores within the next three years. This acquisition expands our pharmacy and clinic presence in existing and new markets and it allows us to increase patient access and is an investment in our core business to drive growth.

 

Retail Pharmacy Business Strategy - Our integrated pharmacy services model has enhanced the ability of our retail pharmacy stores to expand customer access to care while helping to lower overall health care costs and improve health outcomes. In that regard, the role of our retail pharmacist is shifting from primarily dispensing prescriptions to also providing services, including

flu vaccinations as well as face-to-face patient counseling with respect to adherence to drug therapies, closing gaps in care and recommending more cost effective drug therapies. In addition, personalization is central to our retail strategy. Our customer-driven personalization through ExtraCare ^® , ExtraCare Beauty Club ^® and MyWeeklyAd ^TM are designed to help us connect directly with individual consumers to deliver a personalized experience. We also provide a broad assortment of quality merchandise at competitive prices using a retail format that emphasizes service, innovation and convenience. One of the keys to our strategy is technology, which allows us to focus on constantly improving service and exploring ways to provide more personalized product offerings and services. We are leveraging digital to empower our customers and patients by making the full breadth of health care and pharmacy services available to them anytime, anywhere. We are introducing digital tools to make it easier for people to save time and money and to live healthier lives. We believe that continuing to be the first to market with new and unique products and services, using innovative marketing and adjusting our mix of merchandise to match our customers’ needs and preferences is very important to our ability to continue to improve customer satisfaction.

 

Retail/LTC Products and Services - A typical retail store sells prescription drugs and a wide assortment of high-quality, nationally advertised brand name and proprietary brand merchandise. Front store categories include over-the-counter drugs, beauty products and cosmetics, personal care products, convenience foods, photo finishing services, seasonal merchandise and greeting cards. The stores within Target stores sell prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs that are required to be held behind the counter. The LTC operations include distribution of pharmaceuticals and related consulting and ancillary services. We purchase our merchandise from numerous manufacturers and distributors. We believe that competitive sources are readily available for substantially all of the products we carry and the loss of any one supplier would not likely have a material effect on the business. Our clinics offer a variety of health care services by nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

Retail/LTC net revenues by major product group are as follows: 

 

Pharmacy - Pharmacy revenues represented more than two-thirds of Retail Pharmacy revenues in each of 2015, 2014 and 2013. We believe that our pharmacy operations will continue to represent a critical part of our business due to favorable industry trends, e.g., an aging American population consuming a greater number of prescription drugs, pharmaceuticals being used more often as the first line of defense for managing illness, and the impact of expanded health insurance coverage through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (collectively, “ACA”), the introduction of new pharmaceutical products, and Medicare Part D. We believe our pharmacy business benefits from our investment in both people and technology, as well as our innovative partnerships with health plans, PBMs and providers. Given the nature of prescriptions, people want their prescriptions filled accurately by professional pharmacists using the latest tools and technology, and ready when promised. Consumers need medication management programs and better information to help them get the most out of their health care dollars. To assist our customers with these needs, we have introduced integrated pharmacy health care services that provide an earlier, easier and more effective approach to engaging them in behaviors that can help lower costs, improve health, and save lives. Examples include: our Patient Care Initiative, an enhanced medication adherence program; Maintenance Choice ^® , a program where eligible client plan members can elect to fill their maintenance prescriptions at our retail pharmacy stores for the same price as mail order; and Pharmacy Advisor ^® , our program that facilitates pharmacist counseling, both face-to-face and over the telephone, to help participating plan members with certain chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular conditions, to identify gaps in care, adhere to their prescribed medications and manage their health conditions; Specialty Connect ^TM , our integrated specialty pharmacy offering which integrates specialty mail and retail capabilities, providing members with disease-state specific counseling from our experienced specialty pharmacists and the choice to bring their specialty prescriptions to a CVS Pharmacy location or submit it through our specialty mail order pharmacies; as well as ScriptSync™, a new pharmacy service introduced in 2015 that enables patients with multiple medications to pick up their eligible maintenance prescriptions in a single monthly CVS Pharmacy visit . Maintenance Choice, Pharmacy Advisor, Specialty Connect and ScriptSync are all programs that demonstrate our ability to enhance the customer experience through our integrated enterprise products and services. Further evidencing our belief in the importance of pharmacy service is our continuing investment in technology, such as our Drug Utilization Review system that helps check for harmful interactions between prescription drugs and patient identified over-the-counter products, vitamins and herbal remedies;

our proprietary pharmacy system that integrates our product delivery and clinical workflows as well as advanced patient safety functionality such as drug utilization review, RxConnect; our prescription refill program, ReadyFill ^® ; and our online retail businesses, CVS.com, Navarro.com and Onofre.com.br. In December 2015, we expanded our pharmacy offering with the acquisition of the pharmacies within Target stores. Once the system integration is complete, we will offer all the same pharmacy services offered in our retail drugstores and online at our pharmacies within Target stores.

 

Front Store - Front store revenues benefited from our strategy to be the first to market with new and unique products and services, using innovative personalized marketing and adjusting our mix of merchandise to match our customers’ needs and preferences. A key component of our front store strategy is our ExtraCare ^®  card program, which is helping us continue to build our loyal customer base. The ExtraCare program is one of the largest and most successful retail loyalty programs in the United States. The ExtraCare program allows us to balance our marketing efforts so we can reward our best customers by providing them automatic sale prices, customized coupons, ExtraBucks ^®  rewards and other benefits. Similar to ExtraCare is the Beauty Club, another program that rewards our loyal customers with sales prices and customized coupons. We continue to launch and enhance new and exclusive brands like Nuance Salma Hayek ^TM , MakeUp Academy ^TM and NYX ^® to create unmatched offerings in beauty. Another component of our front store strategy is our unique product offerings, which include a full range of high-quality CVS Pharmacy ^®  and proprietary brand products that are only available through CVS Pharmacy stores. We currently carry over 6,400 CVS Pharmacy and proprietary brand products, which accounted for approximately 21.3% of our front store revenues during 2015. These products include expanded offerings of healthy foods and vitamins. Furthermore, we are tailoring certain groups of stores, such as suburban area stores, to better meet the needs of our customers.

MinuteClinic - As of December 31, 2015, we operated 1,135 MinuteClinic ^®  locations in 33 states and the District of Columbia, of which 1,049 were located in CVS Pharmacy stores and 79 were located in Target stores. We opened 85 new clinics during 2015 and acquired 79 clinics from Target in December 2015. Our clinics are staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants who utilize nationally established guidelines to diagnose and treat minor health conditions, perform health screenings, monitor chronic conditions, provide wellness services and deliver vaccinations. Insurers value our clinics because they provides convenient, high-quality, cost-effective care, in many cases offering an attractive alternative to more expensive sites of care. As a result, visits paid for by employers, health insurers or other third parties accounted for approximately 89% of MinuteClinic’s total revenues in 2015. MinuteClinic is collaborating with our Pharmacy Services Segment to help meet the needs of CVS Caremark’s client plan members by offering programs that can improve member health and lower costs. MinuteClinic is now affiliated with 63 major health systems and continues to build a platform that supports primary care.

Long-term Care - Through our Omnicare business, we provide the distribution of pharmaceuticals, related pharmacy consulting and other ancillary services to chronic care facilities and other care settings. LTC's customers consist of skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, independent living communities, hospitals, correctional facilities, and other health care service providers. We provide pharmacy consulting, including monthly patient drug therapy evaluations, assist in compliance with state and federal regulations and provide proprietary clinical and health management programs. We also provide pharmaceutical case management services for retirees, employees and dependents who have drug benefits under corporate-sponsored health care programs.

 

Onsite Pharmacies - We also operate a limited number of small pharmacies located at client sites, typically under the CarePlus ^® , CarePlus CVS Pharmacy ^TM or CVS Pharmacy ^®  name, which provide certain health plan members and customers with a convenient alternative for filling their prescriptions.

 

Retail Pharmacy Drugstore Development - The addition of new stores has played, and will continue to play, a key role in our continued growth and success. Our store development program focuses on three areas: entering new markets, adding stores within existing markets and relocating stores to more convenient sites. During 2015, we opened 161 new retail pharmacy stores, acquired 1,672 pharmacies within Target stores and 14 other locations, relocated 58 stores and closed 31 stores. During the last five years, we opened more than 1,100 new and relocated stores, and acquired 1,832 stores including the pharmacies acquired from Target. We believe that continuing to grow our store base and locating stores in more accessible markets are essential components to compete effectively in the current health care environment. As a result, we believe that our store development program is an integral part of our ability to maintain our leadership position given the changing health care landscape and to meet the increasing needs of our customers.

 

Retail/LTC Information Systems - We have continued to invest in information systems to enable us to deliver exceptional customer service, enhance safety and quality, and expand our patient care services while lowering operating costs. Leveraging our retail pharmacy fulfillment system, RxConnect and our proprietary WeCARE Workflow, supports our pharmacy teams by prioritizing work to meet customer expectations, facilitating prescriber outreach, and seamlessly integrating our clinical programs. This solution delivers improved efficiency and enhances the customer experience, as well as providing a framework to accommodate the evolution of pharmacy practice and the expansion of our clinical programs. Our Health Engagement

Engine ^TM technology and proprietary clinical algorithms enable us to help identify opportunities for our pharmacists to deliver face-to-face counseling regarding patient health and safety matters, including adherence issues, gaps in care and management of certain chronic health conditions. Our digital strategy empowers the consumer to navigate their pharmacy experience and manage their condition through our on-line and mobile tools that offer utility and convenience. This will include the ability to schedule an appointment at MinuteClinic, get next-in line alerts or health reminders and appointment updates via text messages. Our integrated digital offerings help patients seamlessly manage retail, mail and specialty prescriptions dispensed by a CVS Pharmacy or long-term care location and enhance front store personalization to drive value for customers. We experienced strong adoption of our digital solutions with our mobile app receiving critical acclaim for ease of use and our text message program experiencing significant growth. LTC's Digital Technology suite, Omniview ^® , improves the efficiency of customers' operations with tools that include executive dashboards, pre-admission pricing, electronic ordering of prescription refills, proof-of-delivery tracking, access to patient profiles, receipt and management of facility bills, and real-time validation of Medicare Part D coverage, among others capabilities.

 

Retail/LTC Customers - Managed care organizations, government-funded health care programs, commercial employers and other third party plans accounted for 98.8% of our 2015 pharmacy revenues. The loss of any one payor would not have a material effect on our business. No single Retail/LTC payor accounts for 10% or more of our annual consolidated revenues. However, the success of our retail drugstore and long-term care businesses is dependent upon our ability to establish and maintain contractual relationships with PBMs and other payors on acceptable terms.

 

Retail/LTC Seasonality - The majority of our revenues, particularly pharmacy revenues, are generally not seasonal in nature. However, retail front store revenues tend to be higher during the December holiday season. In addition, both pharmacy and retail front store revenues are affected by the timing and severity of the cough, cold and flu season. For additional information, we refer you to “Risks related to the seasonality of our business” in Item 1A. Risk Factors.

 

Retail/LTC Competition - The retail drugstore business is highly competitive. We believe that we compete principally on the basis of: (i) store location and convenience, (ii) customer service and satisfaction, (iii) product selection and variety and (iv) price. In the markets we serve, we compete with other drugstore chains (e.g., Walgreens and Rite Aid), supermarkets, discount retailers (e.g., Wal-Mart), independent pharmacies, restrictive pharmacy networks, membership clubs, Internet companies, and retail health clinics, as well as other mail order pharmacies and PBMs. LTC pharmaceutical services are highly regional or local in nature and within a given geographic area of operation, highly competitive. Our largest competitor nationally is PharMerica. We also compete with numerous local and regional institutional pharmacies, pharmacies owned by long-term care facilities and local retail pharmacies. Some states have enacted “freedom of choice” or “any willing provider” requirements as part of their state medicaid programs or in separate legislation, which may increase the competition that we face in providing services to long-term care facility residents in these states.

Corporate Segment

 

Our Corporate Segment provides management and administrative services to support the overall operations of the Company. The Corporate Segment consists of certain aspects of our executive management, corporate relations, legal, compliance, human resources, corporate information technology and finance departments.

Generic Sourcing Venture

In July 2014, the Company and Cardinal Health, Inc. (“Cardinal”) established Red Oak Sourcing, LLC (“Red Oak”), a generic pharmaceutical sourcing entity in which the Company and Cardinal each own 50%. The Red Oak arrangement has an initial term of ten years. Under this arrangement, the Company and Cardinal contributed their sourcing and supply chain expertise to Red Oak and agreed to source and negotiate generic pharmaceutical supply contracts for both companies through Red Oak; however, Red Oak does not own or hold inventory on behalf of either company.

Working Capital Practices

 

We fund the growth of our business through a combination of cash flow from operations, commercial paper, proceeds from sale-leaseback transactions and long-term borrowings. For additional information on our working capital practices, we refer you to the caption “Management’s Discussion and Analysis - Liquidity and Capital Resources” in our Annual Report to Stockholders for the year ended December 31, 2015, which section is incorporated by reference herein. The majority of our non-pharmacy revenues are paid in cash, or with debit or credit cards, while managed care and other third party insurance programs, which typically settle in less than 30 days, represented approximately 99.6% of our consolidated pharmacy revenues in 2015, including both Retail/LTC and Pharmacy Services. The remainder of consolidated pharmacy revenues are paid in cash, or with debit or credit cards. Our customer returns are not significant.

Colleague Development

 

As of December 31, 2015, we employed approximately 243,000 colleagues, which included more than 34,000 pharmacists, nurses, nurse practitioners and physician assistants. The total included approximately 88,000 part-time colleagues who work less than 30 hours per week. To deliver the highest levels of service to our customers, we devote considerable time and attention to our people and service standards. We emphasize attracting and training knowledgeable, friendly and helpful associates to work in our organization.

 

Intellectual Property

 

We have registered and/or applied to register a variety of our trademarks and service marks used throughout our business, as well as domain names, and rely on a combination of copyright, patent, trademark and trade secret laws, in addition to contractual restrictions, to establish and protect our proprietary rights. We regard our intellectual property as having significant value in our Pharmacy Services and Retail/LTC segments. We are not aware of any facts that could materially impact our continuing use of any of our intellectual property.

 

Government Regulation

 

Overview - Much of our business is subject to federal and state laws and regulations. In addition, many of our PBM clients and our payors in the Retail/LTC Segment, including insurers and managed care organizations (“MCOs”), are themselves subject to extensive regulations that affect the design and implementation of prescription drug benefit plans that they sponsor. Similarly, our LTC clients, such as skilled nursing facilities, are also subject to many of the same government regulations to which we are subject. The application of these complex legal and regulatory requirements to the detailed operation of our business creates areas of uncertainty. Further, there are numerous proposed health care laws and regulations at the federal and state levels, some of which could adversely affect our business if they are enacted. We are unable to predict what federal or state legislation or regulatory initiatives may be enacted in the future relating to our business or the health care industry in general, or what effect any such legislation or regulations might have on our business. Any failure or alleged failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations as summarized below, or any adverse applications of, or changes in, the laws and regulations affecting our business, could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and/or financial condition. See Item 3, “Legal Proceedings” for further information.

Although we believe that we are in material compliance with existing laws and regulations applicable to our various business lines, we cannot give any assurances that our business, financial condition and results of operations will not be materially adversely affected, or that we will not be required to materially change our business practices, based on: (i) future enactment of new health care or other laws or regulations; (ii) the interpretation or application of existing laws or regulations, including the laws and regulations described in this Government Regulation section, as they may relate to our business, the pharmacy services, retail pharmacy, long-term care or retail clinic industry or to the health care industry generally; (iii) pending or future federal or state governmental investigations of our business or the pharmacy services, retail pharmacy, long-term care or retail clinic industry or of the health care industry generally; (iv) institution of government enforcement actions against us; (v) adverse developments in any pending qui tam lawsuit against us, whether sealed or unsealed, or in any future qui tam lawsuit that may be filed against us; or (vi) adverse developments in other pending or future legal proceedings against us or affecting the pharmacy services, retail pharmacy, long-term care or retail clinic industry or the health care industry generally.

Laws and Regulations Related to Each Operating Segment of Our Business

Laws Related to Reimbursement by Government Programs - We are subject to various state and federal laws concerning our submission of claims for reimbursement by Medicare, Medicaid and other government-sponsored health care programs. Potential sanctions for violating these laws include recoupment or reduction of government reimbursement amounts, civil penalties, multiples damages, and exclusion from participation in government health care programs. Such laws include the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”), various state false claims acts, the federal “Stark Law” and related state laws. In particular, the FCA prohibits intentionally submitting, conspiring to submit, or causing to be submitted, false claims, records, or statements to the federal government, or intentionally failing to return overpayments, in connection with reimbursement by federal government programs. As part of ACA, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute was amended in 2010 to provide that any claim for government reimbursement violates the FCA where it results from a violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute. Most states have enacted false claims laws analogous to the FCA, and both federal and state false claims laws permit private individuals to file qui tam or “whistleblower” lawsuits on behalf of the federal or state government. Further, the federal Stark Law generally prohibits physicians from referring Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries for certain services, including outpatient prescription drugs, to any entity with which the physician, or an immediate family member of the physician, has a financial relationship. The Stark Law further prohibits the entity receiving a prohibited referral from presenting a claim for

reimbursement by Medicare or Medicaid for services furnished pursuant to the prohibited referral. Various states have enacted similar laws.

Anti-Remuneration Laws - Federal law prohibits, among other things, an entity from knowingly and willfully offering, paying, soliciting or receiving, subject to certain exceptions and “safe harbors,” any remuneration to induce the referral of individuals or the purchase, lease or order of items or services for which payment may be made under Medicare, Medicaid or certain other federal health care programs. A number of states have similar laws, some of which are not limited to services paid for with government funds. Sanctions for violating these federal and state anti-remuneration laws may include imprisonment, criminal and civil fines, and exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other government-sponsored health care programs.

 

Antitrust and Unfair Competition - The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has authority under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTCA”) to investigate and prosecute practices that are “unfair trade practices” or “unfair methods of competition.” Numerous lawsuits have been filed throughout the United States against pharmaceutical manufacturers, retail pharmacies and/or PBMs under various state and federal antitrust and unfair competition laws challenging, among other things: (i) brand drug pricing practices of pharmaceutical manufacturers, (ii) the maintenance of retail pharmacy networks by PBMs, and (iii) various other business practices of PBMs and retail pharmacies. To the extent that we appear to have actual or potential market power in a relevant market or CVS Pharmacy plays a unique or expanded role in a PBM product offering, our business arrangements and uses of confidential information may be subject to heightened scrutiny from an anti-competitive perspective and possible challenge by state or federal regulators or private parties.

Privacy and Confidentiality Requirements - Many of our activities involve the receipt, use and disclosure by us of personally identifiable information (“PII”) as permitted in accordance with applicable federal and state privacy and data security laws, which require organizations to provide appropriate privacy and security safeguards for such information. In addition to PII, we use and disclose de-identified data for analytical and other purposes when permitted. Additionally, there are industry standards for handling credit card data known as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, which are a set of requirements designed to help ensure that entities that process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. Certain states have recently incorporated these requirements into state laws.

 

The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and the regulations issued thereunder (collectively, “HIPAA”) impose extensive requirements on the way in which health plans, health care providers, health care clearinghouses (known as “covered entities”) and their business associates use, disclose and safeguard protected health information (“PHI”). Criminal penalties and civil sanctions may be imposed for failing to comply with HIPAA standards. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (the “HITECH Act”), enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, amended HIPAA to impose additional restrictions on third-party funded communications using PHI and the receipt of remuneration in exchange for PHI. It also extended HIPAA privacy and security requirements and penalties directly to business associates. In addition to HIPAA, state health privacy laws apply to the extent they are more protective of individual privacy than is HIPAA.

 

Finally, the Health Insurance Marketplaces (formerly known as the “exchanges”) are required to adhere to privacy and security standards with respect to PII, and to impose privacy and security standards that are at least as protective of PII as those the Health Insurance Marketplace has implemented for itself or non-Health Insurance Marketplace entities, which include insurers offering plans through the Health Insurance Marketplaces and their designated downstream entities, including PBMs and other business associates. These standards may differ from, and be more stringent than, HIPAA.

Consumer Protection Laws - The federal government has many consumer protection laws, such as the FTCA, the Federal Postal Service Act and the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule. Most states also have similar consumer protection laws. These laws have been the basis for investigations, lawsuits and multi-state settlements relating to, among other matters, the marketing of loyalty programs and health care services, pricing accuracy, expired front store products, financial incentives provided by drug manufacturers to pharmacies in connection with therapeutic interchange programs and disclosures related to how personal data is used and protected.

Government Agreements and Mandates - The Company and/or its various affiliates are subject to certain consent decrees, settlement agreements, and corporate integrity agreements with various federal, state and local authorities relating to such matters as privacy practices, pseudoephedrine products, Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, expired products, environmental and safety matters, marketing and advertising practices, PBM and pharmacy operations and various other business practices. These agreements contain certain ongoing reporting, monitoring or other compliance requirements for the Company. Failure to meet the Company’s obligations under these agreements could result in civil or criminal remedies, financial penalties, administrative remedies, and/or exclusion from participation in federal health care programs.

Environmental and Safety Regulation - Our business is subject to various federal, state and local laws, regulations and other requirements pertaining to protection of the environment, public health and employee safety, including, for example, regulations governing the management of hazardous substances, the cleaning up of contaminated sites, and the maintenance of safe working conditions in our stores, distribution centers and other facilities. Governmental agencies on the federal, state and local levels have, in recent years, increasingly focused on the retail and healthcare sectors’ compliance with such laws and regulations, and have at times pursued enforcement activities. Any failure to comply with these regulations could result in fines or other sanctions by government authorities.

Health Reform Legislation - Passed in 2010, ACA affects virtually every aspect of health care in the country. In addition to establishing the framework for every individual to have health coverage, ACA enacted a number of significant health care reforms. Many of these reforms affect the coverage and plan designs that are provided by our health plan clients. As a result, these reforms impact a number of our services and business practices. Some significant ACA provisions are still being finalized (e.g., nondiscrimination in health programs and activities, excise tax on high-cost employer-sponsored health coverage), so the full impact of ACA on our Company is still uncertain.

Pharmacy and Professional Licensure and Regulation - We are subject to a variety of intersecting state and federal statutes and regulations that govern the wholesale distribution of drugs; operation of retail, specialty, infusion, LTC and mail order pharmacies; licensure of facilities and professionals, including pharmacists, technicians and nurses; registration of facilities with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) and analogous state agencies that regulate controlled substances; packaging, storing, shipping and tracking of pharmaceuticals; repackaging of drug products; labeling, medication guides and other consumer disclosures; interactions with prescribers and healthcare professionals; compounding of prescription medications; dispensing of controlled and non-controlled substances; counseling of patients; transfers of prescriptions; advertisement of prescription products and pharmacy services; security; inventory control; recordkeeping; reporting to Boards of Pharmacy, the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the DEA and related state agencies; and other elements of pharmacy practice. Pharmacies are highly regulated and have contact with a wide variety of local, state and federal agencies, with various powers to investigate, inspect, audit or solicit information, including Boards of Pharmacy and Nursing, the DEA, the FDA, the United States Department of Justice, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and others. Many of these agencies have broad enforcement powers, conduct audits on a regular basis, can impose substantial fines and penalties, and may revoke the license, registration or program enrollment of a facility or professional.

Telemarketing and Other Outbound Contacts - Certain federal and state laws, such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, give the FTC, Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) and state attorneys general the ability to regulate, and bring enforcement actions relating to, telemarketing practices and certain automated outbound contacts such as phone calls, texts or emails. Under certain circumstances, these laws may provide consumers with a private right of action. Violations of these laws could result in substantial statutory penalties and other sanctions.

Laws and Regulations Related to Our Pharmacy Services Segment

In addition to the laws and regulations discussed above that may affect our business as a whole, we are subject to federal, state and local statutes and regulations governing the operation of our Pharmacy Services Segment specifically. Among these are the following:

PBM Laws and Regulation - Legislation seeking to regulate PBM activities in a comprehensive manner has been introduced or enacted in a number of states. This legislation could adversely impact our ability to conduct business on commercially reasonable terms in states where the legislation is in effect.

 

In addition, certain quasi-regulatory organizations, including the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) have issued model regulations or may propose future regulations concerning PBMs and/or PBM activities. Similarly, credentialing organizations such as the NCQA and URAC may establish voluntary standards regarding PBM or specialty pharmacy activities. While the actions of these quasi-regulatory or standard-setting organizations do not have the force of law, they may influence states to adopt their requirements or recommendations and influence client requirements for PBM or specialty pharmacy services. Moreover, any standards established by these organizations could also impact our health plan clients and/or the services we provide to them.

  

Medicare Part D - The Medicare Part D program, which makes prescription drug coverage available to eligible Medicare beneficiaries through private insurers, regulates all aspects of the provision of Medicare drug coverage, including enrollment, formularies, pharmacy networks, marketing, and claims processing. The Medicare Part D program has undergone significant

legislative and regulatory changes since its inception, and continues to attract a high degree of legislative and regulatory scrutiny. The applicable government rules and regulations continue to evolve. CMS has imposed restrictions and issued new requirements to protect Medicare Part D beneficiaries and has used its authority to sanction and impose civil monetary penalties on plans for non-compliance.

Network Access Legislation - Medicare Part D and a majority of states now have some form of legislation affecting the ability to limit access to a pharmacy provider network or remove network providers. Certain “any willing provider” legislation may require us or our clients to admit a non-participating pharmacy if such pharmacy is willing and able to meet the plan’s price and other applicable terms and conditions for network participation. These laws could negatively impact the services and economic benefits achievable through a limited pharmacy provider network.

Also, a majority of states now have some form of legislation affecting our ability (and the health plans’ ability) to conduct audits of network pharmacies regarding claims submitted to us for payment. These laws could negatively impact our ability to recover overpayments in health care payments stemming from pharmacy audits. Lastly, several states have passed legislation regulating our ability to manage and establish maximum allowable costs (“MAC”). MAC methodology is a common cost management practice used to pay pharmacies for dispensing generic prescription drugs, including private and public payors. MAC prices specify the allowable reimbursement by a PBM for a particular strength and dosage of a generic drug that is available from multiple manufacturers but sold at different prices. State legislation can regulate the disclosure of MAC prices and MAC price methodologies, the kinds of drugs that a PBM can pay at a MAC price, and the rights of pharmacies to appeal a MAC price established by a PBM. These laws could negatively impact our ability to establish MAC prices for generic drugs.

Contract Audits - We are subject to audits of many of our contracts, including our PBM client contracts, our PBM rebate contracts, our contracts relating to Medicare Part D and the agreements our pharmacies enter into with payors. Because some of our contracts are with state or federal governments or with entities contracted with state or federal agencies, audits of these agreements are often regulated by the federal or state agencies responsible for administering federal or state benefits programs, including those which operate Medicaid fee for service plans, Managed Medicaid plans, Medicare Part D plans or Medicare Advantage organizations.

Federal Employee Health Benefits Program - We have a contractual arrangement with carriers for the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), such as the BlueCross BlueShield Association, to provide pharmacy services to federal employees, postal workers, annuitants, and their dependents under the Government-wide Service Benefit Plan, as authorized by the Federal Employees Health Benefits Act (“FEHBA”) and as part of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. These arrangements subjects us to certain aspects of FEHBA, and other federal regulations, such as the Federal Employees Health Benefits Acquisition Regulation, that otherwise are not applicable to us.

State Insurance Laws - PDPs and our PBM service contracts, including those in which we assume certain risks under performance guarantees or similar arrangements, are generally not subject to insurance regulation by the states. However, as a PDP, SilverScript is subject to state insurance laws limited to licensure and solvency. In addition, PBM offerings of prescription drug coverage on a capitated basis, or otherwise accepting material financial risk in providing pharmacy benefits, may be subject to laws and regulations in various states. Such laws may require that the party at risk become licensed as an insurer, establish reserves or otherwise demonstrate financial viability. Laws that may apply in such cases include insurance laws and laws governing MCOs and limited prepaid health service plans.

  

Some states have laws that prohibit submitting a false claim or making a false record or statement in order to secure reimbursement from an insurance company. These state laws vary, and violation of them may lead to the imposition of civil or criminal penalties. Additionally, several states have passed legislation governing the prompt payment of claims that requires, among other things, that health plans and payors pay claims within certain prescribed time periods or pay specified interest penalties. These laws vary from state to state in regard to scope, requirements and application.

ERISA Regulation - The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), provides for comprehensive federal regulation of certain employee pension and benefit plans, including private employer and union sponsored health plans and certain other plans that contract with us to provide PBM services. In general, we assist plan sponsors in the administration of the prescription drug portion of their health benefit plans in accordance with the plan designs adopted by the plan sponsors. We do not believe that the conduct of our business subjects us to the fiduciary obligations of ERISA, except when we have specifically contracted with a plan sponsor to accept limited fiduciary responsibility, such as for the adjudication of initial prescription drug benefit claims and/or the appeals of denied claims under a plan, and with respect to the Contraceptive Coverage Mandate, one of the health reforms included in ACA.

In addition to its fiduciary provisions, ERISA imposes civil and criminal liability on service providers to health plans and certain other persons if certain forms of illegal remuneration are made or received. These provisions of ERISA are broadly written and their application to specific business practices is often uncertain.

Formulary and Plan Design Regulation - A number of government entities regulate the administration of prescription drug benefits. HHS regulates how Medicare Part D formularies are developed and administered, including requiring the inclusion of all drugs in certain classes and categories, subject to limited exceptions. Under ACA, CMS imposes drug coverage requirements for health plans required to cover essential health benefits, including plans offered through federal or state exchanges. Additionally, the NAIC and health care accreditation agencies like the NCQA and URAC have developed model acts and standards for formulary development that are often incorporated into government requirements. Many states regulate the scope of prescription drug coverage, as well as the delivery channels to receive such prescriptions, for insurers, MCOs and Medicaid managed care plans. The increasing government regulation of formularies could significantly affect our ability to develop and administer formularies, networks and other plan design features on behalf of our insurer, MCO and other clients. Similarly, some states prohibit health plan sponsors from implementing certain restrictive design features. This regulation could limit or preclude (i) limited networks, (ii) a requirement to use particular providers, (iii) copayment differentials among providers and (iv) formulary tiering practices.

Managed Care Reform - In addition to health reforms enacted by ACA, proposed legislation has been considered at the state level, and legislation has been enacted in several states, aimed primarily at providing additional rights and access to drugs to individuals enrolled in managed care plans. This legislation may impact the design and implementation of prescription drug benefit plans sponsored by our PBM health plan clients and/or the services we provide to them. Both the scope of the managed care reform proposals considered by state legislatures and reforms enacted by states to date vary greatly, and the scope of future legislation that may be enacted is uncertain.

 

Disease Management Services Regulation - We provide disease management programs to PBM plan members for rare medical conditions and arrange for them to receive disease management programs for common medical conditions. State laws regulate the practice of medicine, the practice of pharmacy and the practice of nursing. Clinicians engaged in a professional practice in connection with the provision of disease management services must satisfy applicable state licensing requirements and must act within their scope of practice.

 

Third Party Administration and Other State Licensure Laws - Many states have licensure or registration laws governing certain types of administrative organizations, such as preferred provider organizations, third party administrators and companies that provide utilization review services. Several states also have licensure or registration laws governing the organizations that provide or administer consumer card programs (also known as cash card or discount card programs).

Laws and Regulations Related to Our Retail/LTC Segment

In addition to the laws and regulations discussed above that may affect our business as a whole, we are subject to federal, state and local statutes and regulations governing the operation of our Retail/LTC Segment specifically. Among these are the following:

Specific FDA Regulation - The FDA generally has authority to, among other things, regulate the manufacture, distribution, sale and labeling of many products sold through retail pharmacies, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, medical devices (including mobile medical devices), cosmetics, dietary supplements and certain food items.

 

Retail Clinics - States regulate retail clinics operated by nurse practitioners or physician assistants through physician oversight, lab licensing and the prohibition of the corporate practice of medicine. A number of states have implemented or proposed laws or regulations that impact certain components of retail clinic operations such as physician oversight, signage, third party contracting requirements, bathroom facilities, and scope of services. These laws and regulations may affect the operation and expansion of our owned and managed retail clinics.

Available Information

 

CVS Health Corporation is a Delaware corporation. Our corporate office is located at One CVS Drive, Woonsocket, Rhode Island 02895, telephone (401) 765-1500. Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol “CVS.” General information about CVS Health is available through the Company’s Web site at http://www.cvshealth.com . Our financial press releases and filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) are available free of charge within the Investors section of our Web site at http://www.cvshealth.com/investors . In addition, the SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information

regarding issuers, such as the Company, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that Web site is http://www.sec.gov.