the advocacy monitor

Independent Living News & Policy from the National Council on Independent Living

CVS Health Works with Disability Organizations to Help People with Disabilities Get Healthcare (Plain Language)

CVS Health Works with Disability Organizations to Help People with Disabilities Get Healthcare (Plain Language)

CVS Health is a pharmacy chain. CVS Health announced that they are working with disability rights groups. CVS and disability groups will work together to make sure disabled people can get healthcare. They will help protect disability rights.

David Casey is the Senior Vice President of Workforce Strategies at CVS. He is also Chief Diversity Officer. This means he works with lots of different groups to make sure CVS is taking care of them well. He said that CVS has been helping disabled people get healthcare for a long time. He said CVS supports disability rights laws. He said they won’t ask the Supreme Court to hear their court case anymore (Footnote 1). You can learn more about the court case through our plain language explainer.

Judith Heumann is a disability activist. She was in the movie Crip Camp about the disability rights movement.  She said that CVS talked honestly with disability leaders. They listened to disabled people who were worried about their rights (Footnotes 2). Judith Heumann talked to CVS along with other people. Chai Feldblum is a disability law expert. Jennifer Mathis works for the Bazelon Center. Both of them also talked to CVS.  Judith Heumann said that everyone is excited to work with CVS. She thanked CVS for caring about disability rights (Footnote 3).

Maria Town is the President and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities. She said that advocates talked with CVS to keep disability rights the way they are. She said people are excited to work with CVS to make sure people with disabilities can get healthcare (Footnote 4).

Footnotes:

  1. Exact words: “We have a long track record of supporting the essential and foundational legal protections for people with disabilities and ensuring that marginalized populations can access affordable health care and medicines in their community…Our agreement to pursue policy solutions in collaboration with the disability community will help protect access to affordable health plan programs that apply equally to all members. As a result, we will not pursue the matter further before the Supreme Court.”
  2. Exact words: “CVS Health engaged in an honest dialogue with disability community representatives and listened carefully to our concerns about what was at stake for disabled people with the question before the Supreme Court”
  3. Exact words: “We look forward to continuing this important work in partnership and thank CVS Health for its commitment to preserving disability rights.”
  4. Exact words: “Hard-fought progress has been preserved today through dialogue and partnership between advocates and CVS Health. We look forward to working collaboratively with CVS Health to find solutions that will ensure that health benefits are equally available and affordable to people with disabilities.”