CVS Health Corporation is an American pharmacy and health care company, with its headquarters in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The company operates more than 9,000 pharmacies in the United States and Puerto Rico, as well as over 200 health clinics.
It is the second largest pharmacy retailer in the United States, after Walgreens Boots Alliance.
CVS Health Corporation was founded in 1984 as Combined Village Stores, a convenience store and pharmacy chain. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1987. In 1996, it merged with the A.P.
Giannini Foundation, a healthcare and philanthropy group. In 2000, the company acquired the Rite Aid Corporation, then the largest pharmacy chain in the United States. In 2006, it acquired the CVS Caremark Corporation, which operated CVS pharmacies as well as pharmacies under the names of stores such as Minute Maid, Safeway, and 7-Eleven.
CVS Health Corporation has been a major sponsor of the Boston Red Sox, providing naming rights to the team’s new baseball stadium, Fenway Park, and also providing healthcare benefits for employees and their families. In 2018, the company agreed to pay $2 billion to settle Federal investigations into alleged price fixing of medications.
CVS Health Corporation has been the subject of criticism for its business practices.
In October 2018, the company announced it would close 150 stores across the United States, affecting about 10,000 jobs.
