Accounting Policies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2012

Accounting Policies

Accounting Policies

Note 1 – Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of CVS Caremark Corporation and its majority owned subsidiaries (“CVS Caremark” or the “Company”) have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) regarding interim financial reporting. In accordance with such rules and regulations, certain information and accompanying note disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted, although the Company believes the disclosures included herein are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto, which are included in Exhibit 13 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 (the “2011 Form 10-K”).

In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include all adjustments consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the interim periods presented. Because of the influence of various factors on the Company’s operations, including business combinations, certain holidays and other seasonal influences, net income for any interim period may not be comparable to the same interim period in previous years or necessarily indicative of income for the full fiscal year.

Principles of Consolidation

The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its majority owned subsidiaries. All material intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company utilizes the three-level valuation hierarchy for the recognition and disclosure of fair value measurements. The categorization of assets and liabilities within this hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the measurement of fair value. The three levels of the hierarchy consist of the following:

¡Level 1 – Inputs to the valuation methodology are unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access at the measurement date.

¡Level 2 – Inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, quoted prices in markets that are not active or inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the instrument.

¡Level 3 – Inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable inputs based upon management’s best estimate of inputs market participants could use in pricing the asset or liability at the measurement date, including assumptions about risk.

As of June 30, 2012, the carrying value of cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, accounts receivable and accounts payable approximated their fair value due to the short-term nature of these financial instruments. The Company invests in money market funds, commercial paper and time deposits that are classified as cash and cash equivalents within the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets, as these funds are highly liquid and readily convertible to known amounts of cash. These investments are classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy because they are valued using quoted market prices. The Company’s short-term investments consist of certificates of deposit with initial maturities of greater than three months when purchased. These investments, which are classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy, are carried at historical cost, which approximated fair value at June 30, 2012. The carrying amount and estimated fair value of the Company’s total long-term debt was $9.2 billion and $10.8 billion, respectively, as of June 30, 2012. The fair value of the Company’s long-term debt was estimated based on quoted rates currently offered in active markets for the Company’s debt, which is considered Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy. There were no outstanding derivative financial instruments as of June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011.

Revenue Recognition

Pharmacy Services Segment

The Pharmacy Services Segment sells prescription drugs directly through its mail service pharmacies and indirectly through its retail pharmacy network. The Pharmacy Services Segment recognizes revenue from prescription drugs sold by its mail service pharmacies and under retail pharmacy network contracts where the Pharmacy Services Segment is the principal using the gross method at the contract prices negotiated with its clients. Net revenues include: (i) the portion of the price the client pays directly to the Pharmacy Services Segment, net of any volume-related or other discounts paid back to the client (see “Drug Discounts” below), (ii) the price paid to the Pharmacy Services Segment by client plan members for mail order prescriptions (“Mail Co-Payments”) and the price paid to retail network pharmacies by client plan members for retail prescriptions (“Retail Co-Payments”), and (iii) administrative fees for retail pharmacy network contracts where the Pharmacy Services Segment is not the principal as discussed below.

Revenue is recognized when: (i) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (ii) delivery has occurred or services have been rendered, (iii) the seller’s price to the buyer is fixed or determinable, and (iv) collectability is reasonably assured. The following revenue recognition policies have been established for the Pharmacy Services Segment:

·Revenues generated from prescription drugs sold by mail service pharmacies are recognized when the prescription is shipped. At the time of shipment, the Pharmacy Services Segment has performed substantially all of its obligations under its client contracts and does not experience a significant level of reshipments.

·Revenues generated from prescription drugs sold by third party pharmacies in the Pharmacy Services Segment’s retail pharmacy network and associated administrative fees are recognized at the Pharmacy Services Segment’s point-of-sale, which is when the claim is adjudicated by the Pharmacy Services Segment’s online claims processing system.

The Pharmacy Services Segment determines whether it is the principal or agent for its retail pharmacy network transactions on a contract by contract basis. In the majority of its contracts, the Pharmacy Services Segment has determined it is the principal due to it: (i) being the primary obligor in the arrangement, (ii) having latitude in establishing the price, changing the product or performing part of the service, (iii) having discretion in supplier selection, (iv) having involvement in the determination of product or service specifications, and (v) having credit risk. The Pharmacy Services Segment’s obligations under its client contracts for which revenues are reported using the gross method are separate and distinct from its obligations to the third party pharmacies included in its retail pharmacy network contracts. Pursuant to these contracts, the Pharmacy Services Segment is contractually required to pay the third party pharmacies in its retail pharmacy network for products sold, regardless of whether the Pharmacy Services Segment is paid by its clients. The Pharmacy Services Segment’s responsibilities under its client contracts typically include validating eligibility and coverage levels, communicating the prescription price and the co-payments due to the third party retail pharmacy, identifying possible adverse drug interactions for the pharmacist to address with the physician prior to dispensing, suggesting clinically appropriate generic alternatives where appropriate and approving the prescription for dispensing. Although the Pharmacy Services Segment does not have credit risk with respect to Retail Co-Payments, management believes that all of the other indicators of gross revenue reporting are present. For contracts under which the Pharmacy Services Segment acts as an agent, revenue is recognized using the net method.

Drug Discounts - The Pharmacy Services Segment deducts from its revenues any rebates, inclusive of discounts and fees, earned by its clients. Rebates are paid to clients in accordance with the terms of client contracts, which are normally based on fixed rebates per prescription for specific products dispensed or a percentage of manufacturer discounts received for specific products dispensed. The liability for rebates due to clients is included in “Claims and discounts payable” in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

Medicare Part D - The Pharmacy Services Segment participates in the Federal Government’s Medicare Part D program as a Prescription Drug Plan (“PDP”). Net revenues include insurance premiums earned by the PDP, which are determined based on the PDP’s annual bid and related contractual arrangements with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”). The insurance premiums include a beneficiary premium, which is the responsibility of the PDP member, but is subsidized by CMS in the case of low-income members, and a direct premium paid by CMS. Premiums collected in advance are initially deferred in accrued expenses and are then recognized in net revenues over the period in which members are entitled to receive benefits.

In addition to these premiums, net revenues include co-payments, coverage gap benefits, deductibles and co-insurance (collectively, the “Member Co-Payments”) related to PDP members’ actual prescription claims. In certain cases, CMS subsidizes a portion of these Member Co-Payments and pays the Pharmacy Services Segment an estimated prospective Member Co-Payment subsidy amount each month. The prospective Member Co-Payment subsidy amounts received from CMS are also included in net revenues. The Company assumes no risk for these amounts. If the prospective Member Co-Payment subsidies received differ from the amounts based on actual prescription claims, the difference is recorded in either accounts receivable or accrued expenses.

The Pharmacy Services Segment accounts for CMS obligations and Member Co-Payments (including the amounts subsidized by CMS) using the gross method consistent with its revenue recognition policies for Mail Co-Payments and Retail Co-Payments (discussed previously in this document).

Retail Pharmacy Segment

The Retail Pharmacy Segment recognizes revenue from the sale of merchandise (other than prescription drugs) at the time the merchandise is purchased by the retail customer. Revenue from the sale of prescription drugs is recognized at the time the prescription is filled as opposed to upon delivery as required under the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification 605 Revenue Recognition. For substantially all prescriptions, the fill date and the delivery date occur in the same reporting period. The effect on both revenue and income of recording prescription drug sales upon fill as opposed to delivery is immaterial. Customer returns are not material. Revenue generated from the performance of services in the Retail Pharmacy Segment’s health care clinics is recognized at the time the services are performed.

See Note 8 for additional information about the revenues of the Company’s business segments.

Noncontrolling Interest

On June 29, 2012, the Company acquired the remaining 40% interest in Generation Health, Inc. from minority shareholders and employee option holders for $26 million and $5 million, respectively, for a total of $31 million.

New Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2011, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2011-05, Presentation of Comprehensive Income (“ASU 2011-05”). ASU 2011-05 eliminated the option to report other comprehensive income and its components in the statement of shareholders’ equity. Instead, an entity has the option to present the total of comprehensive income, the components of net income, and the components of other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. ASU 2011-05 also required entities to present reclassification adjustments out of accumulated other comprehensive income by component in both the statement in which net income is presented and the statement in which other comprehensive income is presented. In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-12 Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassification of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income in Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05, which indefinitely defers the guidance related to the presentation of reclassification adjustments. ASU 2011-05 is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011 and should be applied retrospectively. The Company elected to report other comprehensive income and its components in a separate statement of comprehensive income beginning in the first quarter of 2012. The adoption of ASU 2011-05 did not have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.

In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-08, Testing Goodwill for Impairment (“ASU 2011-08”). ASU 2011-08 allows entities to use a qualitative approach to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value. If after performing the qualitative assessment an entity determines it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then performing the two-step goodwill impairment test is unnecessary. However, if an entity concludes otherwise, then it is required to perform the first step of the two-step goodwill impairment test. ASU 2011-08 is effective for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2011-08 will have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.