Rush-CVS Partnership for People on Medicare

Rush University System for Health recently partnered with CVS MinuteClinics to reach more people on Medicare. The collaboration enables people with Medicare who utilize CVS’s participating MinuteClinics in Chicago and some suburbs to access follow-up primary and specialty care at Rush.

The partnership — through a Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services initiative called ACO REACH — makes care more accessible and affordable to people in surrounding communities, says Paul Casey, MD, chief medical officer for Rush University Medical Center. It has the potential to impact local Medicare beneficiaries beyond the 35,000 that Rush currently sees.

Rush and CVS aren’t the only budding partnerships. With a nationwide primary care shortage, there’s a trend for retail outlets, including Amazon and Best Buy, to partner with comprehensive healthcare providers. Casey says Rush will ultimately measure this partnership’s success through annual wellness visits and whether people trend healthier — and out of the hospital.

According to Casey, the CVS partnership provides another way for Rush clinicians to address social determinants of health for Medicare patients. Social determinants — transportation, housing, primary care, and food access, as well as financial ability — drive 50% of successful health outcomes.

Originally published in the Summer/Fall 2023 print issue.