A new joint venture between investor Wilbur Ross and the former chief of CVS Caremark could put more than $1 billion into play in the health industry, the two announced Wednesday.

Crawford-Ross pairs turnaround specialist Mac Crawford, former president, chairman and CEO of Caremark, with Ross who has stepped into numerous industries in distress, from airlines, to steel, to auto parts.

The two plan to "build a major position in healthcare" by restructuring companies.

Crawford was also chairman of CVS Caremark in 2007.

He joined the company, then called Med Partners, in 1998 when it managed physician practices. Under Crawford it focused on pharmacy benefits management.

The company, renamed Caremark, became the second largest pharmacy benefits manager in the U.S. in 2004 by buying AdvancePCS. CVS acquired Caremark in March 2007 for $26.5 billion.

The company is the third largest pharmacy benefits manager in the country and it had about $13.5 billion in revenue in 2009.

Private equity firm WL Ross & Co. has invested in healthcare, airlines, auto parts, banking, insurance, steel, and other industries over the last 10 years.