Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare is collaborating with CVS Health’s MinuteClinic, the walk-in clinics located inside CVS pharmacy stores, to offer in-network adult primary care services at all 20 Connecticut MinuteClinic locations for many insurance plans accepted by the health system.
The partnership will expand access to same-day and next-day appointments, along with evening and weekend hours, according to a May 7 health system news release. Care coordination between MinuteClinic providers and Hartford HealthCare clinicians will be supported through a shared EHR system.
MinuteClinic primary care patients also will have access to Hartford HealthCare’s hospitals, specialists, diagnostic services, advanced imaging and specialty labs, the organizations said.
MinuteClinic introduced its primary care model nearly two years ago and began offering the service to eligible Connecticut patients in summer 2025, according to the release. CVS Health operates more than 1,000 MinuteClinic locations across 40 states and said more than 65% now offer adult primary care through affiliations with health systems and payers.
The Hartford HealthCare collaboration is the latest in a series of health system partnerships CVS has pursued to scale its MinuteClinic primary care model. In Massachusetts, a similar deal between CVS and Somerville, Mass-based Mass General Brigham to offer primary care at 37 MinuteClinic locations drew scrutiny from the state’s Health Policy Commission. The agency outlined its concerns in a report, estimating the collaboration could increase annual healthcare spending by $40 million within three years, largely because patients would be referred into Mass General Brigham higher-priced specialist and hospital network.
Both CVS and Mass General Brigham have pushed back on the commission’s methodology, arguing the report does not account for longer-term cost reductions from preventive and coordinated care.
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