‘I guess $30 for a bottle of Mucinex is accessible?’: Former CVS worker speaks out against the pharmacy, says its own workers can’t afford to shop there

CVS Pharmacy is one of the largest retailers in the United States, especially in the pharmacy and healthcare space. It is best known for its pharmacy services, over-the-counter drug offerings, and MinuteClinics.

As of the end of 2023, CVS had more than 9,300 locations across the company.

But, like the rest of the healthcare industry, it has faced significant controversy across the board over its role in drug pricing, forcing out small local pharmacies, exacerbating the opioid crisis, mishandling data, and its parent company acquiring Aetna, a major health insurer (more on that in a bit).

Worker calls CVS out

And its treatment of staff isn't much better, an alleged former employee claimed in a viral TikTok. The TikTok was viewed 11,000 times.

In the video titled, "Working in USA: Former CVS employee spills tea," former employee Luke Gardner (@lukesjournalism) said that he worked at CVS for only a month because he has a "short tolerance for [expletive]."

Gardner recalls that one of the first things new employees are told during training is that part of their mission as a company is to make healthcare more accessible. This tracks with what's listed on its site.

"I guess $30 for a bottle of Mucinex is accessible? That's two hours of your labor if you're a CVS employee," Gardner said.

But that's assuming you live in a state with a higher minimum wage like California, Massachusetts, or New York.

Remember that the federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 an hour since 2009. States can set a higher minimum wage than the federal minimum (and dozens have). However, they cannot pay below this number, according to the United States Department of Labor.

So if you live in a state with the federal minimum wage, it would take you about four and a half hours, accounting for taxes, to pay for a bottle of medicine. That's more than half a full work day.

This is a problem unique to the U.S. In the U.S., drugs and healthcare are significantly more expensive compared to places like the U.K., Spain, and Switzerland. That's because the U.S. doesn't have universal healthcare and doesn't regulate drug prices.

In addition, there are systemic incentives for physicians to prescribe more expensive medications and loopholes in the drug patent system that create monopolies, Psychology Today reported.

@lukesjournalism #usa #money #retail #vote #health #work #doctor #healthcare #cvs ♬ original sound - Luke Gardner

No health insurance

"And get this, CVS owns Aetna insurance company. And guess what you don't get when you're a part-time employee at CVS. Insurance?" Gardner said. "So how does that make healthcare accessible for me when I work for you?"

Garnder is right. CVS Pharmacy's parent company, CVS Health, does now operate Aetna as a subsidiary as of 2018.

While companies are not federally required to offer part-time employees health insurance, they certainly can offer it. It's a great way to attract and retain workers.

You'd think it would be a no-brainer for a healthcare company to offer this benefit to all employees. Especially when that company is connected to a huge insurer. Companies that have been applauded for offering part-timers insurance include Starbucks, UPS, JPMorgan Chase, the American Red Cross, and Costco, U.S. News reported.

Keep in mind that it was a huge deal for this acquisition to happen since the Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit (basically saying they were creating a monopoly in the healthcare market) against it.

Commenters react

"I work for a health insurance company and the benefits are the worst between all the jobs I’ve ever had," a top comment read.

"I worked in their pharmacy but always got scheduled just under the amount of hours to get insurance with them and couldn't afford to go to their in store clinic when I was sick lmao," a person shared.

"Kinda crazy how all these industries seem to work in tandem with each other to keep majority of the population in a debt spiral while making insane-record profits. Good thing Collusion is illegal here in the US," another wrote.

The Daily Dot reached out to Gardner for comment via email and Instagram direct message. The Daily Dot also reached out to CVS Health via email.

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