8 connected strategy in the health insurance industry subsidized than competitors (only 43% vs. 75% for other insurance companies), and are higher utilization, leading to increased medical spending.14 Oscar has not yet adjusted properly for its member mix and may need to do so in a market where it has already experienced success in terms of market share, growth, and member satisfaction. Overall, it is still an open question whether Oscar can continue to build its connected strategies in a way that can also extract value. In the future, Oscar might either raise premiums, focus on getting more federal subsidies in the Individual market, or change its offering architecture to better compete in the Medicare Advantage market. aetna15 Unlike other traditional health insurers, Aetna has a unique opportunity to leverage its industry-changing merger with CVS to apply connected strategies. While the merger enables Aetna and CVS to get cost synergies by eliminating intermediaries along the supply chain,16 there are significant opportunities for Aetna to get involved in the delivery of care and drugs in a role beyond what insurers have typically played and which is closer to helping customers navigate the healthcare landscape, in a concierge-like fashion. Company Background Aetna was originally founded in Hartford, CT in 1853 and has grown to be the third largest health insurer in the U.S., with 22.2 million members in 2018.17 Across its medical, dental, and pharmaceutical insurance plans, it serves 39 million members.18 It was acquired by CVS Health in 2017 in one of the largest healthcare and vertical mergers ever in the U.S. in the hope of rethinking the U.S. healthcare system through an entity with a combined revenue of $245B annually.19 Connected Customer Relationships Aetna has been attempting to move towards a few different areas of connected customer relationships. First, it is attempting to use a respond-to-desire relationship by attempt- ing to provide services that customers demand besides reimbursement in places where 14 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/built-fail-oscars-business-model-ari-gottlieb/ 15 A conversation with Akshara Reddy, Head of Strategic Planning in Commercial Business & Markets at Aetna has informed the content of this section. 16 https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/12/cvs-aetna-merger-deal-why/547442/ 17 https://www.statista.com/statistics/828436/largest-health-insurance-companies-in-us-by-membership/ 18 https://www.aetna.com/about-us/aetna-facts-and-subsidiaries/aetna-facts.htm 19 https://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20181128/NEWS/181129943/cvs-health-and-aetna-close-70-billion-merger