(Walmart) could very easily become a dominant player in cash based medical services very quickly…….
FROM DAN MEYLAN:
This is a game changer……..it puts a new wrinkle on cash based primary healthcare…..and Walmart has the financial muscle, the marketing expertise and the highest foot traffic of any retail entity in America….they could very easily become a dominant player in cash based medical services very quickly…notice the price points…lower than most insurance policy copays…and DPC rates….
A couple key questions…
- What are they going to do with critical and chronic patients?
- Will the low wage and younger markets abandon traditional insurance plans because they can pay cash for medical treatment at Walmart?
- Where are they going to find the medical professionals to staff these clinics….and how are they going to pay them?
- How are they going to establish and maintain high level clinical standards?
Some key Walmart facts…..
10,220 stores in the USA $332B US Sales $514B Worldwide Sales 2.2M Employees
95% of US Consumers shop at a Walmart!
“Health care looks like a big opportunity,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told investors last month.
Walmart may start nationwide health care, offer $30 checkups without insurance
WINK NEWS
In Calhoun, Georgia, a city of around 16,000 residents 70 miles outside of Atlanta, Walmart is testing out a new health center. If successful, Walmart may expand its initiative across the United States, potentially upending the way millions of Americans receive medical care.
At “Walmart Health,” which has a separate entrance next door to a massive Walmart supercenter, patients can see doctors for routine checkups and ongoing treatment of chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and heart disease, even if they lack health insurance. They can also get lab work, x-rays, dental care, behavioral health counseling, eye and hearing exams, and access other services. The bill for an annual checkup for an adult is $30 without insurance, an eye exam is $45 and dental exams cost $25. Therapy sessions are $60.
Walmart, America’s largest retailer, opened the facility in January. It’s only one of two in the country. The first, in Dallas, Georgia, another exurb of Atlanta, opened in September.
Walmart is America’s dominant retailer for groceries and other merchandise. But now it’s trying to seize a chunk of the lucrative health care market, which makes up more than 15% of the country’s economy and is growing.
Write RiskManager@RiskManagers.us
FROM A PHYSICIAN
I’ve seen all this bullshit before. Maybe they’ll get it right this time, but WM has been flopping around for 5-7 years trying to figure out how to break into the primary care market, with no appreciable success. Just b/c they have a lot of money doesn’t mean they have the brains to figure out if a business model will work inside their stores. I suppose there is a segment of the market that is willing to go into a WM and let the smell the popcorn enhance their N/V/D. It hasn’t been a big success for HEB when people are coughing on the lettuce, so I question whether it will work for WM. Big companies make bad decisions all the time!!
