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Health equity

Helping give people a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible

 

Investing in America’s health

Preventable health disparities exist among many people based on geography, income, race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age and disability status.

 

At CVS Health®, we believe that everyone should have a fair and just opportunity to achieve optimal health.

 

We are committed to advancing health equity for our customers, colleagues, clients and communities by improving trust, health care access and quality of health for every population we serve.

 

Discover our Health Equity Policy Agenda (PDF)

Focusing on three areas

Enabling our colleagues

Maximizing the strengths, expertise and passion of our colleagues and equipping them with the skills and resources they need to address health inequities.

Overhead view of a group of colleagues sitting around a conference table

Caring at every moment

Understanding the unique health experiences of our customers, consumers, members and communities throughout their health care journey.

A nurse covering a pateint with a blanket

Taking bold actions

Aligning our capabilities and assets across the company to implement evidence-based actions and collaborations focused on decreasing health disparities in heart health, mental health and women’s health.

The arm of a person getting their blood pressure checked by a CVS professional
A nurse embracing a patient's shoulder while checking her pulse

Advancing health equity with purpose

Our longstanding commitment to health equity reflects who we are as a company and is embedded in our purpose of bringing our heart to every moment of your health.

 

Every day, we’re finding ways to help eliminate health disparities and increase access to care. We will continue to be a catalyst for change and address inequities in our health care system and improve the trajectory of health for communities nationwide.

Dr. Joneigh Khaldun 

Vice President, Chief Health Equity Officer, CVS Health

Approaching health equity

Our colleagues are critical to bringing our commitment to advancing health equity to life. We value a diverse and inclusive workforce that represents the people we serve every day. We support our colleagues’ journey in learning about health equity and the impact they can make in helping to address health inequities. 

It is critical that we understand the unique health experiences of our consumers, customers, members and communities throughout their health care journey to improve how we help them. 

 

Across our company, we are leveraging tools to identify disparities and use those insights to improve the health, well-being and quality of life for our members and customers. For example, Aetna works to understand unique local needs to help address barriers to care for Medicaid members, and collaborates with employers to implement programs and interventions to make health care more accessible and affordable.

 

CVS Caremark combines information from public sources with our own prescription claims information to identify disparities, and works with providers, customers and local organizations to address them. Our goal is to provide customer-centric care that truly reflects the needs of the people we serve. 

 

Guided by consumer research and insights, CVS Health provides innovative health and wellness products and digital solutions that empower patients, caregivers and those living with disabilities to help them live their lives to the fullest. 

As a health care innovation company that touches more than 100 million people through retail, pharmacy, medical clinics, insurance and clinical management, we are uniquely positioned to improve the health of people across this country. We do this through innovative solutions and by addressing social determinants of health.

 

We are focused on advancing women’s health equity and meeting the unique health and societal challenges women face.

 

We leverage our assets and partnerships to improve heart health and mental health outcomes and decrease disparities. Through the CVS Health Foundation, we work with the American Heart Association to advocate for research and education and to increase health care access. 

 

Our collaborations with the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Mental Health America help provide equitable, quality access to mental health resources. 

 

We are working to improve health outcomes by addressing social determinants of health (SDOH). For example, through Project Health, we bring free biometric screenings into communities to help identify chronic illnesses. Our Health Zones initiative also improves the health of communities across America by addressing challenges people face, including access to affordable housing and food. 

Through the CVS Health Community Equity Alliance, we are working with health care and academic organizations to expand the community health worker workforce, enhance connections between health care institutions and communities and address disparities in heart health and mental health outcomes. The first institutions that have joined the new initiative are Meharry Medical College, Sinai Chicago and Wayne State University. 

The CVS Health National Health Equity Advisory Board is made up of a diverse group of leaders with a wide range of expertise and lived experience. Board members address how ableism, classism, racism, sexism and discrimination impact the historically marginalized communities CVS Health serves. Members also provide feedback on policies, programs and practices that help inform CVS Health’s health equity strategy.

Making a world of difference goes beyond routine checkups

Woman swimming in lake wearing goggles on her head

80%

Percentage of a person’s health determined outside the doctor’s office through social determinants of health (SDOH).

We’re looking out for the health of the planet, too