On April 13, 2021, CVS, the nation's largest drug store chain, entered into a "Corporate Sponsorship Agreement" with the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
I was not aware of this lawsuit - thanks for the information. What this brought to my mind -- perhaps unfairly -- is the relationship between AARP and insurance companies.
Yes! I am an AARP member, and they do some good things politically. But their deals with insurance companies and organizations like AAA strike me as scammy. After year one, prices go way up.
People assume they're getting the best price because of the AARP "endorsement". They don't realize that it's strictly which company gives AARP the biggest "kickback." In my opinion.
I've wondered, sort of, about this arrangement, too. I say sort of because I am pretty sure AARP is benefitting more than its members from these arrangements. I'll like to see Popular Information do a deep dive into this one.
I can't confirm, I just know it's true - AARP is DEFINITELY making money off of pretending to be a trustworthy source of support for seniors. The Jitterbug phones are an example - these were not phones that supported the senior experience for my in-laws in their 80s, but "the AARP told us these were THE phones we needed!"
My spidey sense kicked in when AARP started promoting things like this. That's not their job. I wanted my money to go to their lobbying efforts and standing up for seniors efforts. How do we know if they are now lining the pockets of someone else or themselves rather than using those profits on our behalf?
These days, I feel like I can't trust any of these groups because their stated vision/mission/goal is prominently promoted, but their 'true' North Star goals are money, money money. It's so disheartening to think that people are just $$$ in their eyes.
I just looked you up and finally know what UX means! I read a little more and see you recommend mentors and apprenticeships, as well. I've taken it upon myself to help younger people know how to interact with older people like me when we are interfacing with products, websites, etc., but we need to develop a new way to make that work even better. Anyway, look me up. I think you're on to something and even if we can't help each other, it's always nice to see what others are doing and learning and thinking. Glad you weighed in here.
All in the name of greed. More corporate chicanery. About 4 months ago, my insurer, in their great and awesome wisdom, decreed that my transplant meds no longer would be supplied by Walgreen's and instead would come from (you guessed it) CVS. In reality, Aetna had quietly "acquired" CVS. What a debacle it's been. Am I surprised by this corporate grifting? Not in the least. Someone there has been going to trump University for real.
Anyway, I hope they get the stuffing beaten out of them as they lose the suit and appeal. I hope they are forced to publicly disclose their malfeasence and that new instructions are enacted to put corporate greed in check.
I guess that the best way to do that would be to tax the *()^% out of them eh?
Not that it makes a difference, but CVS bought Aetna for $69 billion, not the other way around. It does reflect how much power they now have in healthcare though. I expect next that a hedge fund will buy CVS/Aetna. It really is long past time to start enforcing the 3 federal antitrust laws that exist. There is hope with newly appointed Lina Khan as head of the FTC and Rohit Chopra as director of the CFPB. And of course, increasing taxes on these corporate pirates is sorely needed to check their greed.
Thank you for honest reporting. It’s hard to imagine the amount of suffering these corporations inflict upon society all in the name of greed, you shine a light in these dark spaces.
Thanks for providing more detail on this story and the case. The key point-CVS could have, and should have, just committed to fundraise through customer donations or outright commit to donate. The marketing and image factory got ahead of itself, imo. I will continue to be on the lookout for details of this and the Kroger-Albertsons merger, which will leave consumers with very few options in our country, especially out west.
Happened to see a short video blip on CSPAN of Tom Cotton R telling Krogers figuratively to go pound sand! I guess they weren't giving enough money to get the votes they need....
My employer's health plan included prescription drug coverage, but we could only get three months at a time using CVS. I refuse to patronize this company. I use a different pharmacy and simply go monthly or use GoodRx
They constantly offer "coupons" that you actually can't use for anything in the store except maybe a pack of gum. Every time I've added a coupon to my card, they insist it's not on there. It's clearly intentional unfair trade practices.
The whole trend of these billion dollar companies virtue signaling but then having customers actually "donating" is obscene. Starbucks did this kind of scam with bottled water. Just donate the damn money from your own profits. I hope the plaintiffs win.
Now, I can only get 30 days worth of meds at a time from CVS! The one time a sympathetic technician sent me 90 days worth of my meds, someone else called a few days later, demanded that I send the "overage" back and sent me a mailer containing a packing list that called for ALL of the pills to be returned. Mind you this is a pill that I take 2 of, twice a DAY!!! They called to follow up a few times and I would very sweetly say, "let me look into that for you." And that would be that until next time. They stopped called after that second time. I wonder why? /s
In NYC the buzz was brazen snatch and go theft in CVS and Dwane Reed and Walgreens, etc. Of course political adds made hay out of this and “law and order” candidates capitalized on the stories. The information in your piece was not the buzz. Not sexy enough. Also a story like this too is nuanced and requires more focus and close reading than most readers are willing to do. Hence Popular Information which has an audience that is willing to pay for investigative reporting and to spend the time to CLOSELY read and to think. So thanks again. It might also be good to contrast the faux $10 million with the lobbying monies spent by CVS. And of course we all remember the part CVS paid in the tragic opioid scandal.
If anything CVS learned this “technique” from state lottery officials who’s advertising says the lottery supports education when in fact all it does is lower the taxpayer funding for education, teachers, schools and students don’t get a nickel more in funding. As others have mentioned AARP is no better. If anything this is more about disclosure but with all the Republican dominated state houses we can bet the enforcement will be non-existent.
Picked up some medication and did some shopping before I went home last night...at CVS. Consumerism is just a minefield of ethical dilemmas these days.
The ADA must have the world’s worst deal negotiation team. Given that they offer up their name and corporate goodwill, they sure don’t get much for it. Separately, I do hope the suit succeeds, partly because I would love to see CVS’ extreme weasel lawyers lose. Wordsmithing A-holes!
Definitely easier to blame the 'people who steal' for our problems instead of examining why people don't have what they need to survive. Supports the 'Us vs. Them' mentality. I appreciate this being called out and recognized as manipulation.
This type of corporate malfeasance and greed is an example of monopolistic power in pharmacy industry - when companies are able to operate with few or no repercussions, they will always help themselves at the expense of consumers - in this case literally. The shoplifting story is another example, too. Large companies don’t care that they’ve raised the costs and created barriers to essential services - they only care about profits. In the case of CVS (& the other monopolistic pharmacies), people are responding to their tactics by shoplifting and who can blame them?
We need universal healthcare (including Rx) & some kind of universal basic income (call it what you want), which should be financed by corporate & high net worth individuals taxes. Breaking the pharmacy monopolies is the start of how we get there.
I recently switched my Part D plan from CVS/Aetna to Walmart/Humana and saving almost $500 a year. Using Walmart pharmacy is the least expensive, but I will go to an independent pharmacy as long as I can afford it. My Father was an independent pharmacist, so it's in my blood.
My pharmacist told me that a lot of people were switching to Humana.
I especially appreciated the light you shine on stories like this, which most media neglect.
I was not aware of this lawsuit - thanks for the information. What this brought to my mind -- perhaps unfairly -- is the relationship between AARP and insurance companies.
Yes! I am an AARP member, and they do some good things politically. But their deals with insurance companies and organizations like AAA strike me as scammy. After year one, prices go way up.
People assume they're getting the best price because of the AARP "endorsement". They don't realize that it's strictly which company gives AARP the biggest "kickback." In my opinion.
I've wondered, sort of, about this arrangement, too. I say sort of because I am pretty sure AARP is benefitting more than its members from these arrangements. I'll like to see Popular Information do a deep dive into this one.
I can't confirm, I just know it's true - AARP is DEFINITELY making money off of pretending to be a trustworthy source of support for seniors. The Jitterbug phones are an example - these were not phones that supported the senior experience for my in-laws in their 80s, but "the AARP told us these were THE phones we needed!"
My spidey sense kicked in when AARP started promoting things like this. That's not their job. I wanted my money to go to their lobbying efforts and standing up for seniors efforts. How do we know if they are now lining the pockets of someone else or themselves rather than using those profits on our behalf?
These days, I feel like I can't trust any of these groups because their stated vision/mission/goal is prominently promoted, but their 'true' North Star goals are money, money money. It's so disheartening to think that people are just $$$ in their eyes.
Changing the incentives changes the outcome.
I just looked you up and finally know what UX means! I read a little more and see you recommend mentors and apprenticeships, as well. I've taken it upon myself to help younger people know how to interact with older people like me when we are interfacing with products, websites, etc., but we need to develop a new way to make that work even better. Anyway, look me up. I think you're on to something and even if we can't help each other, it's always nice to see what others are doing and learning and thinking. Glad you weighed in here.
This "deep dive" might fill an ocean!
All in the name of greed. More corporate chicanery. About 4 months ago, my insurer, in their great and awesome wisdom, decreed that my transplant meds no longer would be supplied by Walgreen's and instead would come from (you guessed it) CVS. In reality, Aetna had quietly "acquired" CVS. What a debacle it's been. Am I surprised by this corporate grifting? Not in the least. Someone there has been going to trump University for real.
Anyway, I hope they get the stuffing beaten out of them as they lose the suit and appeal. I hope they are forced to publicly disclose their malfeasence and that new instructions are enacted to put corporate greed in check.
I guess that the best way to do that would be to tax the *()^% out of them eh?
Not that it makes a difference, but CVS bought Aetna for $69 billion, not the other way around. It does reflect how much power they now have in healthcare though. I expect next that a hedge fund will buy CVS/Aetna. It really is long past time to start enforcing the 3 federal antitrust laws that exist. There is hope with newly appointed Lina Khan as head of the FTC and Rohit Chopra as director of the CFPB. And of course, increasing taxes on these corporate pirates is sorely needed to check their greed.
I like that idea Adam!
Read Walgreens ain't no champ either. I use them for my expensive med. 80 bucks cheaper than Walmart and CVS. We are stuck with little choice.
Thank you for honest reporting. It’s hard to imagine the amount of suffering these corporations inflict upon society all in the name of greed, you shine a light in these dark spaces.
Disgusting. But where can we go for our insulin and other supplies? Walgreens? Our entire HC industry is based solely on greed.
Thanks for providing more detail on this story and the case. The key point-CVS could have, and should have, just committed to fundraise through customer donations or outright commit to donate. The marketing and image factory got ahead of itself, imo. I will continue to be on the lookout for details of this and the Kroger-Albertsons merger, which will leave consumers with very few options in our country, especially out west.
It will be interesting to see if the Kroger merger is approved. I would hope not.
Happened to see a short video blip on CSPAN of Tom Cotton R telling Krogers figuratively to go pound sand! I guess they weren't giving enough money to get the votes they need....
Another big disappointment with that merger! 👍🏼
The only retail theft is the price gouging.
My employer's health plan included prescription drug coverage, but we could only get three months at a time using CVS. I refuse to patronize this company. I use a different pharmacy and simply go monthly or use GoodRx
They constantly offer "coupons" that you actually can't use for anything in the store except maybe a pack of gum. Every time I've added a coupon to my card, they insist it's not on there. It's clearly intentional unfair trade practices.
The whole trend of these billion dollar companies virtue signaling but then having customers actually "donating" is obscene. Starbucks did this kind of scam with bottled water. Just donate the damn money from your own profits. I hope the plaintiffs win.
Now, I can only get 30 days worth of meds at a time from CVS! The one time a sympathetic technician sent me 90 days worth of my meds, someone else called a few days later, demanded that I send the "overage" back and sent me a mailer containing a packing list that called for ALL of the pills to be returned. Mind you this is a pill that I take 2 of, twice a DAY!!! They called to follow up a few times and I would very sweetly say, "let me look into that for you." And that would be that until next time. They stopped called after that second time. I wonder why? /s
In my state you cannot return an opened prescription. Likely that is a gateway to tampering with a med. Someone was covering their bum.
In NYC the buzz was brazen snatch and go theft in CVS and Dwane Reed and Walgreens, etc. Of course political adds made hay out of this and “law and order” candidates capitalized on the stories. The information in your piece was not the buzz. Not sexy enough. Also a story like this too is nuanced and requires more focus and close reading than most readers are willing to do. Hence Popular Information which has an audience that is willing to pay for investigative reporting and to spend the time to CLOSELY read and to think. So thanks again. It might also be good to contrast the faux $10 million with the lobbying monies spent by CVS. And of course we all remember the part CVS paid in the tragic opioid scandal.
If anything CVS learned this “technique” from state lottery officials who’s advertising says the lottery supports education when in fact all it does is lower the taxpayer funding for education, teachers, schools and students don’t get a nickel more in funding. As others have mentioned AARP is no better. If anything this is more about disclosure but with all the Republican dominated state houses we can bet the enforcement will be non-existent.
exactly!!!!!!!!!!
Picked up some medication and did some shopping before I went home last night...at CVS. Consumerism is just a minefield of ethical dilemmas these days.
And the problem is that we usually don’t have a better or more ethical option available.
Do we know if HUMANA is a good alternative?
Great report, Judd. You seem to be the only one who catches these corporate sleights-of-hand.
The ADA must have the world’s worst deal negotiation team. Given that they offer up their name and corporate goodwill, they sure don’t get much for it. Separately, I do hope the suit succeeds, partly because I would love to see CVS’ extreme weasel lawyers lose. Wordsmithing A-holes!
Hmm crickets about this but headlines for shoplifting…media bias much?
Definitely easier to blame the 'people who steal' for our problems instead of examining why people don't have what they need to survive. Supports the 'Us vs. Them' mentality. I appreciate this being called out and recognized as manipulation.
This type of corporate malfeasance and greed is an example of monopolistic power in pharmacy industry - when companies are able to operate with few or no repercussions, they will always help themselves at the expense of consumers - in this case literally. The shoplifting story is another example, too. Large companies don’t care that they’ve raised the costs and created barriers to essential services - they only care about profits. In the case of CVS (& the other monopolistic pharmacies), people are responding to their tactics by shoplifting and who can blame them?
We need universal healthcare (including Rx) & some kind of universal basic income (call it what you want), which should be financed by corporate & high net worth individuals taxes. Breaking the pharmacy monopolies is the start of how we get there.
I recently switched my Part D plan from CVS/Aetna to Walmart/Humana and saving almost $500 a year. Using Walmart pharmacy is the least expensive, but I will go to an independent pharmacy as long as I can afford it. My Father was an independent pharmacist, so it's in my blood.
My pharmacist told me that a lot of people were switching to Humana.
Humana offers mail-order pharmacy for three-month supplies when appropriate, and costs are significantly lower.
I will stay with my independent pharmacist until it is no longer an option. I know mail order is popular, but it makes me uneasy.
Boycott? Enforce anti-monopoly laws?