CVS Health will spend $100 million during the next five years on community health initiatives, the company said Jan. 14.
Five things to know:
1. The Building Healthier Communities initiative will be funded through the combined CVS-Aetna company, as well as their respective foundations.
2. CVS will invest $20 million each year across three categories outlined in the initiative: improving local access to affordable quality care, impacting public health challenges and partnering with local communities.
3. Under the first category, improving local access to affordable quality care, CVS said it will expand its Project Health campaign. Founded in 2006, Project Health offers no-cost health assessments to detect early risks for diseases like diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. The company intends to expand the program to more underserved and underinsured communities in 2019, and hopes to address health disparities through grant funding to more than 100 free clinics.
4. CVS will also support partnerships with the American Cancer Society, American Lung Association and American Diabetes Association to address public health challenges. The company has already contributed more than $4 million to add blood pressure kiosks in highly traveled areas in specific cities.
5. Additionally, CVS and Aetna will support U.S. News & World Report's Healthiest Communities rankings, which evaluates about 3,000 communities throughout the U.S. across 10 categories.
"We believe the path to better health and a better world can be reached by creating a whole new healthcare model that's more local, affordable, and easier to use. And by strengthening our local support and community engagement, we can further improve the health of our communities," said Larry J. Merlo, president and CEO of CVS, during a Jan. 14 speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
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