{"id":12057,"date":"2019-09-10T11:40:33","date_gmt":"2019-09-10T11:40:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/?p=12057"},"modified":"2019-09-11T00:50:08","modified_gmt":"2019-09-11T00:50:08","slug":"dear-larry-j-merlo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/?p=12057","title":{"rendered":"Dear Larry J. Merlo"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='__iawmlf-post-loop-links' style='display:none;' data-iawmlf-post-links='[{&quot;id&quot;:5666,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/investors.cvshealth.com\\\/investors\\\/corporate-governance\\\/officers\\\/default.aspx&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/investors.cvshealth.com:443\\\/governance\\\/governance-documents\\\/default.aspx&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:5667,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/cvshealth.com\\\/newsroom\\\/press-releases\\\/cvs-health-updates-firearms-stores-policy&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20201130103656\\\/https:\\\/\\\/cvshealth.com\\\/newsroom\\\/press-releases\\\/cvs-health-updates-firearms-stores-policy&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-17 09:25:19&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-30 17:17:41&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-30 17:17:41&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:5668,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www1.salary.com\\\/Larry-J-Merlo-Salary-Bonus-Stock-Options-for-CVS-HEALTH-CORP.html&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20240702001238\\\/https:\\\/\\\/www1.salary.com\\\/Larry-J-Merlo-Salary-Bonus-Stock-Options-for-CVS-HEALTH-CORP.html&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-17 09:26:04&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:503},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-30 17:17:45&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:503}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-30 17:17:45&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:503},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:5669,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/papers.ssrn.com\\\/sol3\\\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3233904&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;}]'><\/div>\n<!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->\n<script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/gtag\/js?id=UA-147431441-1\"><\/script>\n<script>\n  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];\n  function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}\n  gtag('js', new Date());\n\n  gtag('config', 'UA-147431441-1');\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>This is an open letter to the <a href=\"https:\/\/investors.cvshealth.com\/investors\/corporate-governance\/officers\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CEO of CVS Health<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dear Mr. Merlo:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I have been a customer of CVS and its predecessor chain Revco since the early 1980s. That is when I moved to Waynesville, North Carolina. I received fantastic service from Ken Holland, R.Ph., who has long since retired. The advice and consultation I received from Ken proved invaluable over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Due to a change you announced on September 5th, I can no longer ethically or morally patronize your stores. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/cvshealth.com\/newsroom\/press-releases\/cvs-health-updates-firearms-stores-policy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announcement <\/a>read:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p> We support the efforts of individuals and groups working to prevent gun violence (sic), and continually review our policies and procedures to ensure our stores remain a safe environment.&nbsp;We join a growing chorus of businesses in requesting that our customers, other than authorized law enforcement personnel, do not bring firearms into our stores. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>This goes to the heart of my ability to provide for my own self-defense and that of my family. I am a law-abiding citizen with a North Carolina Concealed Handgun Permit. I have gone through multiple background checks including both criminal and mental health. I have been fingerprinted. I have had training. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My wife and I are the type people you want shopping in your stores and pharmacies. However, in an effort to curry favor with those who would put us at risk, you don&#8217;t want us in your establishments. That is your choice and it is our choice to move our patronage elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I totaled the amount I spent on prescriptions alone with CVS this year. It amounts to $213.23 as of September 4th. I realize that this is only 0.00097% of your <a href=\"https:\/\/www1.salary.com\/Larry-J-Merlo-Salary-Bonus-Stock-Options-for-CVS-HEALTH-CORP.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fiscal 2018 compensation of $21,939,098<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is only a drop in the bucket compared to what you make as CEO of CVS Health. However, if just a fraction of the <a href=\"https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3233904\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">approximately 17 million plus concealed carry permit holders<\/a> decide to shop elsewhere, that could impact your corporate bottom line. It is not like there aren&#8217;t other options outside the major chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I wish you the best as you try to explain to your board and others why you don&#8217;t want us, the most law-abiding citizens in the country, as your customers any longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sincerely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>John Richardson<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>UPDATE:<\/strong> I had a prescription waiting for me at CVS. Rather than picking it up,  I had it moved to another local pharmacy today. In doing so, I saved $13 over the price that CVS was charging. That is a win-win in my book!<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is an open letter to the CEO of CVS Health. Dear Mr. Merlo: I have been a customer&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[593,4779,4781,4780,4782,4783],"class_list":["post-12057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-anti-gun-companies","tag-cvs-health","tag-firearm-policy","tag-larry-j-merlo","tag-open-letter","tag-pharmacies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12057"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12057\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12064,"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12057\/revisions\/12064"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}