CVS Health launches HERe, Healthier Happens Together
Timed to “International Day of the Girl” on Oct. 11, CVS Health announced its commitment to address period poverty and the actions the company is taking to provide more accessible menstrual care options.
This initiative is part of the company's new enterprise initiative – HERe, Healthier Happens Together – to provide easier access to services and products that help support women’s mental and physical well-being.
The announcement took place during a livestreamed panel discussion moderated by Adrienne Bailon-Haughton, an advocate for female health topics, to educate media and consumers about period poverty and the “so called” menstrual tax and pink tax and address CVS Health’s part in advancing health equity in communities nationwide.
Panelists included: Asia and Laila Brown, co-founders of 601 for Period Equity, a Black woman-led, grassroots organization based in Mississippi; Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, a personal finance expert, speaker, and New York Times bestseller; Dr. Joanne Armstrong, vice president and chief medical officer for Women’s Health and Genomics for CVS Health; and Jake White, vice president of consumer healthcare, pricing & analytics, front store merchandising for CVS Health.
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As part of its HERe, Healthier Happens Together platform, CVS Health shared that it is taking several bold actions related to product pricing and paying the tax on menstrual products in 12 states, while providing women with greater access to affordable, accessible healthcare services. These include:
- Reducing the prices of CVS Health store brand period products in its core stores by 25%;
- Paying the so-called “Menstrual Tax” on menstrual products in front store in 12 states and partnering with national organizations who are working to eliminate the menstrual tax altogether in 26 states;
- Taking a stance on the “Pink Tax” by ensuring fair and equitable pricing for men’s and women’s comparable products, like razors and shaving cream;
- Offering new menstrual, contraception and menopause services through MinuteClinic at CVS; and
- Launching new MinuteClinic Virtual Care services in most states seven days a week — for a variety of women’s health services ranging from general medical needs, from heart health and thyroid monitoring, to birth control consultations and depression screenings.