CVS will spin off Aetna after 8 years. What it means for Hartford

CVS is ending its run as a health insurance company, eight years after acquiring Aetna and scuttling a plan that would have moved the insurance carrier's headquarters executives to New York City, but with questions lingering about its commitment to Hartford.

CVS Health announced Wednesday morning the decision to spin off Aetna, CVS Caremark, Signify Health and other units as an independent new company. CVS Health CEO David Joyner would lead that operation.

CVS Health has its headquarters in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, with Aetna's operation based located in Hartford. The company has closed pharmacies in Connecticut and nationally in recent years, even as rivals like Walgreens and Rite Aid have struggled.

Aetna has seen significant changes in its tenure under the CVS brand, including layoffs, executive changes, contractual impasses and the company's 2025 decision to no longer offer coverage on health insurance exchanges in states where it had offered them.

"Our history is defined by proactively evolving to stay ahead of what's next in healthcare, and in today's environment, that means delivering more affordability, greater access, and a simpler experience," Joyner said in a press release. "We plan to create two focused companies to improve consumer engagement, affordability, and care coordination."

The retail pharmacy half of the business would be known as CVS Pharmacy, with Prem Shah to lead it as CEO and currently group president of CVS Health.

CVS Health reported a $2.2 billion profit for the third quarter on revenue of $108 billion, a year after absorbing a $4 billion loss for the third quarter of 2025.

Includes prior reporting by staff writers Liese Klein, Jayden Nguyen, Paul Schott and Luther Turmelle.

© 2026 Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.. Visit www.journalinquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.