CVS as positive disruptor in healthcare. Investing in maternal health, primary care will be good for business.

Investment will help further address maternal health disparities nationwide

CVS Health® has announced as part of Maternal Health Call to Action Day that it is advancing its commitment to addressing maternal health disparities with a $1.74M investment. The funding will support initiatives led by America’s Essential Hospitals, Every Mother Counts and the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women in the U.S. are three times more likely to die due to pregnancy-related causes compared to white women. Overall, the U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries; 60 percent of those deaths are likely preventable.

“We have an unwavering commitment to addressing the maternal health crisis that our country is facing – one of which disproportionally impacts Black women,” said Joneigh Khaldun, MD, MPH, Chief Health Equity Officer, CVS Health. “We fully support the Administration’s efforts to address racial inequities in pregnancy and childbirth and to improve maternal health outcomes. We will continue to do our part by investing in community-based programs that help reduce maternal mortality so that all birthing people receive the high quality care they need and deserve.”

CVS Health’s $1.74M commitment to maternal health will support the following initiatives:

• Every Mother Counts: “Choices in Childbirth” ($650,000)
  A series of educational videos and resources that will empower expecting parents through their maternal care journey with the goal to improve maternal health and birth equity in the United States. The materials will become available on January 1, 2022.
• America’s Essential Hospitals: “Improving Obstetric Outcomes for Black Maternity Patients in Essential Hospitals” ($847,000 grant from the CVS Health Foundation)
  A new learning collaboration by America’s Essential Hospitals to reduce morbidity and mortality for women and improve their obstetric outcomes. It will include 12 hospitals across the country that have maternal mortality rates above the national average, especially among Black patients. The learning collaboration will launch in January 2022.

Women & Infants Hospital is one of the 12 hospitals targeted across the country

Black birthing patients die at a rate three times that of white birthing patients, an alarming statistic behind a new learning collaborative by essential hospitals to reduce morbidity and mortality for Black pregnant or birthing patients and improve their obstetric outcomes.

The collaborative, funded by CVS Health Foundation, will be guided by Essential Hospitals Institute, the research, education, dissemination, and leadership development arm of America’s Essential Hospitals. The two-year, nearly $847,000 project will support ongoing work at 12 essential hospitals to reduce morbidity and mortality among Black pregnant and birthing patients and foster sharing of results and best practices among the hospitals. These hospitals include:

• Alameda Health System Foundation, Highland Hospital
• Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation
• JPS Health Network
• MedStar Washington Hospital Center
• Memorial Healthcare System
• Broward Health
• Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital
• SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
• Temple University Hospital
• University of California, San Diego Health
• UW Medical Center—Montlake
• Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island

“The high rate of pregnancy-related mortality and morbidity among Black patients compared with white patients is among our most challenging health disparities,” said Institute Director and Vice President of Innovation Kalpana Ramiah, DrPH, MSc. “As primary caregivers in communities of color, our hospitals will lead work, through this collaborative, to find and share solutions.”

The pregnancy-related mortality ratio (PRMR) for non-Hispanic Black patients is more than three times that for non-Hispanic white patients — 40.8 percent compared with 12.7 percent, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research shows. This difference persists across age and socioeconomic factors. For example, the PRMR for Black patients with at least a college degree was five times higher than for white patients with similar education. Cardiomyopathy, thrombotic pulmonary embolism, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy contributed more to mortality among Black pregnant and birthing patients than among white pregnant and birthing patients, the CDC reports.

“We are committed to closing gaps in care and reducing health disparities among the underrepresented people our hospitals serve,” Ramiah said. “This new collaborative supports those goals and ultimately will drive better care at all hospitals. We thank CVS Health Foundation for its generous support of this important work.”

• National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics: Preeclampsia Prevention Initiative for Black Women ($250,000 grant from the CVS Health Foundation)
  A program implemented in nine clinics across the country that provides educational and clinical training for providers to help identify women at risk for preeclampsia, high blood pressure that comes on suddenly during pregnancy. Preeclampsia, which is 60 percent more common in Black women vs. white women, is a leading, preventable cause of severe maternal morbidity, maternal death, preterm birth, and low birthweight. CVS Health began donating low-dose aspirin, an intervention  recommended by medical societies that can reduce the risk of preeclampsia by more than 30 percent, for women at these clinics in July 2021.

As part of its commitment to addressing maternal health disparities, CVS Health is also donating 1,000 blood pressure monitoring machines to health care systems in counties that have some of the highest maternal mortality and morbidity numbers in the country. This donation is expected to impact 10,000 mothers each year that the new machines are in use. 

CVS Health has made a two-year, $2 million commitment through the Aetna Foundation to Upstream USA. The support will help to deliver comprehensive, evidence-based training and technical assistance to health centers to ensure all women of reproductive age receive patient-centered, best-in-class contraceptive care.

Locally, Upstream Rhode Island will deliver their program to the state’s Federally Qualified Health Centers, hospital systems, and additional health agencies and community partners.

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CVS Health to “lean in” to primary care health services

At a recently held “Investors’ Day”, the CVS Health leadership team presented strategies to make health care more convenient, personalized and affordable for consumers, while also increasing profitability and shareholder value for the company by investing in high-growth areas such as new health products, services and technologies.

“Now is the time to undertake our next major evolution and capitalize on our role as the leading health solutions company in America,” said CVS Health President and CEO Karen S. Lynch. “By leaning into our high-growth foundational businesses and expanding our reach in areas like health services and primary care, we have an opportunity to shift care to be more centered around the consumer while capturing a meaningfully greater portion of health care spend. Ultimately, this plan is only possible with our unique combination of assets which will allow us to lower costs, increase access to quality care and improve health outcomes for consumers, patients and members — while delivering superior results for shareholders.”

The CVS Health management team will focus on priority areas for strategic growth, including:

• Maximizing growth in the company’s foundational businesses by continuing to position its existing assets to deliver market-leading health solutions and focusing on high-growth opportunities.
• Advancing primary care delivery capabilities by guiding consumers across the care continuum to sites and to providers that meet their needs — both in person and virtually. This approach will complement the traditional provider network and continue to expand ways to utilize risk-based arrangements and value-based care.
• Optimizing the retail portfolio to serve as community health destinations by pivoting the store footprint to focus on advanced primary care centers, enhanced HealthHUB locations and traditional CVS Pharmacy stores. As announced last month, the company will close approximately 900 stores over the next three years to reduce store density and ensure it has the right kinds of stores in the right locations for consumers and for the business.
• Launching new all-payer health products and services which will diversify the company’s growth portfolio with new health solutions for employers, consumers and health plans. This will include the expansion of home health services, the launch of health-related subscription models for broader populations, the commercialization of analytics and insights, and establishing all-payer and provider enablement services.
• Driving a digital-first, technology-forward approach that will expand the company’s reach and engagement with its more than 35 million online members, launching new consumer-centric services and offerings, enhancing the customer experience and streamlining business operations — leading to higher customer satisfaction levels and lower costs.
• Enhancing omnichannel health services to meet the needs of consumers when and where they want them, including at home, virtually and in the community. This will include execution of the company’s omnichannel pharmacy strategy, with integration across all fulfillment channels to make pharmacy interactions as personalized and seamless as possible.

Members who filled prescriptions at CVS Pharmacy locations were associated with 6% higher adherence across important chronic conditions, including congestive heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension, and demonstrated at least a 40% higher level of engagement in supportive care management programs in 2020.

CVS Health CFO and Executive Vice President Shawn Guertin said CVS is seeing its long-term growth trajectory a return to low double-digit adjusted EPS growth in 2024 and beyond.