CVS Caremark Marks the First Anniversary of Transformational Merger

CVS Caremark (NYSE:CVS) today marked the first anniversary of its successful, transformational merger as the largest integrated provider of prescriptions and health-related services in the nation. "As the nation’s number one prescription provider, we are leveraging our unique combination to help payors control costs more effectively, improve patient access, and promote better health outcomes,” stated Tom Ryan, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of CVS Caremark. "Our integrated model provides us with an opportunity to gain share and create new sources of growth in 2008 and beyond.” With the 2007 merger of CVS Corporation and Caremark Rx, Inc., the company became the largest provider of prescriptions and related health services in the United States. The company is expected to report 2008 revenues of well over $85 billion, placing it among the 20 largest companies in the nation. CVS Caremark will mark the one-year milestone today by ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Company officials, including senior executives as well as a pharmacist, store manager, nurse practitioner, and pharmacy supervisor will join to represent the thousands of professionals who comprise this pharmacy health care company. The company operates the largest retail pharmacy chain by store count with 6,300 CVS/pharmacy stores; the largest and fastest-growing retail clinic business through MinuteClinic; the largest and most clinically-advanced specialty pharmacy and health management programs; and one of the leading mail order pharmacies. "But success is about more than being big—it’s about facing the challenges and improving the delivery of health care in America today,” Ryan commented. "Through innovative and industry-unique programs, CVS Caremark is combining the strength of retail and PBM services so consumers receive the most efficient and convenient care option—on the phone, through the mail, on the Internet or face-to-face. These efforts will change the way consumers use their pharmacy benefits.” Ryan further noted, "One year ago we said this merger was a logical evolution for health care delivery. We have already made important progress in developing differentiated offerings that we believe will lead to enhanced growth for the company over time. We are developing a successful new pharmacy service delivery model. We have about 20 pilot programs already underway, and clients are embracing our new model with its significant opportunities for improved access and care at a lower cost.” Some recent contract wins attributable to the CVS Caremark model include the Board of Trustees of the Employees Retirement System of Texas’ recent selection of CVS Caremark as the state’s PBM and Hewitt Associates’ choice of CVS Caremark as the first preferred vendor for the Hewitt Pharmacy Purchasing Group. When it comes to making positive change in health care, CVS Caremark has chosen to lead, and is fortunate to have highly talented, energized associates who are working side by side to achieve the new company’s mission. Ryan praised CVS Caremark employees for remaining focused on customer service, execution, and expense control across the company in the midst of all the integration and new growth activities. He said the new pharmacy model development came even as the company reported record revenue, earnings, and free cash flow in 2007; opened 275 new/relocated CVS stores, opened more than 300 MinuteClinics; and won over $2 billion in new PBM business, a sign that payers understand the benefits of the combination of CVS and Caremark. The company is set to achieve more than $700 million in cost-saving synergies in 2008, over 50 percent higher than the original target at the time the merger was first announced. "We are thrilled with our acceptance in the market and with the enthusiasm that health plans, employers and consumers alike have shown,” Ryan commented. About CVS Caremark CVS Caremark is the largest provider of prescriptions and related health care services in the nation. The Company fills or manages more than 1 billion prescriptions annually. Through its unmatched breadth of service offerings, CVS Caremark is transforming the delivery of health care services in the U.S. The Company is uniquely positioned to effectively manage costs and improve health care outcomes through its 6,300 CVS/pharmacy stores; its pharmacy benefit management, mail order and specialty pharmacy division, Caremark Pharmacy Services; its retail-based health clinic subsidiary, MinuteClinic; and its online pharmacy, CVS.com. General information about CVS Caremark is available through the Investor Relations portion of the Company's website, at http://investor.cvs.com, as well as through the pressroom portion of the Company's website, at www.cvs.com/pressroom. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. For these statements, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company strongly recommends that you become familiar with the specific risks and uncertainties outlined under the caption "Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements” in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2007.