BRIEF: WSJ: Walmart weighs buy of Medicare giant

March 30--A year after Aetna abandoned a bid to acquire Louisville, Ky.-based Humana, Walmart is in discussions to acquire the latter health insurer, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing unnamed sources.

Among pharmacies, Walmart trails only CVS Caremark and Walgreens, with Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS in the process of acquiring Hartford-based Aetna for $69 billion to add an insurance arm. In early March, Bloomfield-based Cigna reached a $54 billion deal to acquire the pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts.

In Connecticut, Humana sells Medicare supplemental insurance as well as policies covering dental and vision care.

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