Report: CVS Caremark Contributes Billions to Rhode Island Economy

WOONSOCKET, R.I., Feb. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) today released an economic impact study of CVS Caremark's contribution to the economy of Rhode Island, the state where the company's national headquarters is located.  According to the findings of the study, which PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) conducted for CVS Caremark, the company's Rhode Island operations contributed more than $1.2 billion to Rhode Island's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2010, approximately 12,000 jobs, $831 million in labor income, and $116 million in state and local taxes. 

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Over the next ten years, the study found that CVS Caremark's contribution to Rhode Island's GDP is projected to be approximately $16.6 billion, assuming its growth matches the average annual growth for the national economy, which is projected by the Congressional Budget Office to be 4.7%.  However, if CVS Caremark's growth over the next ten years matches its historical growth, its contribution over the next ten years would increase to approximately $35 billion, the PwC study projects.

"We are committed to Rhode Island and are proud to be a part of this community where we put down roots at our founding in 1963," said CVS Caremark President and CEO Larry J. Merlo.  "The results of this study are further evidence that as we have grown as a company, we have also helped Rhode Island to grow."

CVS Caremark maintains its corporate headquarters in Rhode Island.  These operations include a Customer Support Center, Finance Center and Marketing Center.  The Company also maintains two distribution facilities with more than 800,000 square feet of distribution space, a Customer Care Call Center and 58 CVS/pharmacy stores in Rhode Island.  CVS Caremark directly generated more than 6,000 jobs in 2010 in Rhode Island, including officers and executives of the company, pharmacists and health care professionals, finance and sales professionals, technology and information systems professionals, and front store associates. 

In 2010, CVS Caremark's corporate headquarters drew more than 54,000 visits from suppliers, vendors and others.  If even half of these visitors were from out-of-state, they would have spent $9 million in local hotels, restaurants and car rental locations.  In addition, CVS Caremark purchased millions of dollars in goods and services from local suppliers and invested more than $90 million in new Rhode Island based capital building projects.

The economic impact of CVS Caremark was measured using four metrics:  employment, labor income, taxes and value added.  For each of these measures, the direct, indirect and induced impacts are calculated to quantify CVS Caremark's total contribution.  The complete report, "Economic Impact Study: CVS Caremark's Contribution to the Rhode Island Economy," is available here.

About CVS Caremark
CVS Caremark is the largest pharmacy health care provider in the United States with integrated offerings across the entire spectrum of pharmacy care. We are uniquely positioned to engage plan members in behaviors that improve their health and to lower overall health care costs for health plans, plan sponsors and their members. CVS Caremark is a market leader in mail order pharmacy, retail pharmacy, specialty pharmacy, and retail clinics, and is a leading provider of Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans. As one of the country's largest pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs), we provide access to a network of approximately 65,000 pharmacies, including more than 7,300 CVS/pharmacy® stores that provide unparalleled service and capabilities. Our clinical offerings include our signature Pharmacy Advisor™ program as well as innovative generic step therapy and genetic benefit management programs that promote more cost effective and healthier behaviors and improve health care outcomes. General information about CVS Caremark is available through the Company's website at http://info.cvscaremark.com/.

SOURCE CVS Caremark