CVS announced this week that is will cover the so-called “tampon tax” in Texas and 11 other states, and will discount its store brand menstrual products.
CVS is dropping the price of its store brand tampons and other menstrual products and will pay the sales tax on those items in Texas and 11 other states.
The company announced Tuesday that it is dropping the price of CVS Health and Live Better menstrual products — including tampons, pads, cups and liners — by 25 percent or more. It is also absorbing the cost of what is known as the “tampon tax” in 12 states and partnering with organizations that are working to eliminate it altogether in states that tax menstrual products.
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CVS said it is making the change because women have unique health care needs, but there are also societal factors that affect their ability to access care. Both issues need to be addressed to improve health equity, CVS Health VP and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joanne Armstrong said during a panel discussion at which the changes were announced.
“All of our solutions really have to focus on the medical part and the societal part,” Armstrong said during the panel discussion. “And part of the societal part is how we tax women — what these extra, unnecessary burdens are for women as they just try to receive health care.”
Organizations like the Texas Menstrual Equity Coalition and lawmakers have been working to end the tampon tax, saying it places an undue burden on women who need to buy menstrual products. Texas is among 22 states that tax menstrual products; 23 have exempted them and five do not levy a state sales tax, according to the Alliance for Period Supplies, a program of the National Diaper Bank Network.
“We have a cost to taking care of our most basic bodily functions,” said Joanne Samuel Goldblum, the founder and CEO of the NDBN and the APS.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Comptroller Glenn Heger and state Sen. Joan Huffman, a Republican from Houston who is chair of the Senate Finance Committee, have all signaled they would support a repeal of the tampon tax during the next legislative session. The comptroller’s office estimated a repeal would cost the state $28.6 million in sales tax revenue over the next two-year budget cycle.
Sales tax contributes to what is known as “period poverty,” where someone is unable to afford menstrual products. The issue is prevalent nationwide: a CVS Health and The Harris Poll survey found 45 percent of people with periods are regularly stressed about affording menstrual products. The same survey found 46 percent of people with periods who live in low-income households reported that they try to stretch out how long they use their products.
The issue is also widespread in Texas, where one in six girls and women between the ages of 12 and 44 live below the federal poverty line, according to the APS . Being unable to afford those products can affect the lives of those girls and women, Goldblum said.
“We do know there are kids who miss school because they don’t have period products, and that is unacceptable,” she said.
Goldblum called the CVS announcement is “a great step in the right direction,” and said it’s the first time she’s heard of a company absorbing the cost of the tampon tax. Other companies have worked to address period poverty in other ways; APS founding sponsor U by Kotex donates tens of millions of menstrual products each year so they can be distributed across the country, Goldblum said.
CVS also announced that it is taking a stance on the so-called “pink tax” by ensuring that products used by men and women, such as razors and shaving cream, are offered at equitable prices.
The company is also offering menstrual, contraception and menopause services though MinuteClinic, and is launching MinuteClinic Virtual Care services in most states. Virtual care will be available for a variety of women’s health needs, including birth control consultations.
evan.macdonald@chron.com
Evan MacDonald is a features reporter for the Houston Chronicle, covering health and wellness for ReNew Houston.
He joined the Chronicle in 2022 after working at Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, where he covered health. He’s also worked for news organizations in New York and Massachusetts.
A Boston native, Evan graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Emerson College and a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He enjoys trivia and movies and is a fan of all Boston sports teams, for which he apologizes in advance.
He can be reached on Twitter at @evanmac3 or via email at Evan.MacDonald@chron.com.
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