Big corporations are scooping up primary care practices to get access to vast numbers of patients while positioning themselves for the shift to value-based care, The New York Times reported May 8. The story cites CVS Heath’s $10.6 billion purchase of Oak Street Health, Amazon’s $3.9 billion deal for One Medical, and Optum’s employment of roughly 70,000 physicians. The companies hope to treat the more than 30 million Americans on Medicare Advantage, which the federal government is paying private payers $400 billion a year to administer.
