Depends. Kaiser is a great example of this (its a closed loop payer and provider) but it has a huge network within certain regions and doesn't cover nationally. The problem is that CVS via pharmacy retail and MinuteMan only satisfies a part of the whole care provider package. Kaiser on the other hand has it's own providers that carry everything from head to toe (no pun intended). That's why I don't see why this would be such a big deal.

costing savings isn't as immediate or apparent as horizontal merger, otherwise more companies would be doing it. Perhaps it makes more sense in space where there are fewer players, but in healthcare as an overall pie is huge.