Walmart Health: When one door closes, another one at Humana opens
Why do Walmart health-centric businesses keep closing?
Walmart Health opened its first location in Dallas, Georgia in 2019. Five years later, all 51 nationwide locations came to a close on June 29. The Walmart Health Virtual Care also shut down.
Their Walmart PetRx website opened in 2019 as well (with help from Allivet Pet Pharmacy), but by September 1, 2023, Walmart PetRx was closed too. Why is Walmart having such a tough time keeping health facilities open for humans (and pets)?
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According to Walmart’s official site, “Through our experience managing Walmart Health centers and Walmart Health Virtual Care, we determined there is not a sustainable business model for us to continue.”
Walmart isn’t totally wiping their hands of the health care industry though. The brand goes on to state the following:
“While we will no longer operate health centers, we will take what we learned as we provide trusted health-and-wellness services across the country through our nearly 4,600 pharmacies and more than 3,000 vision centers.”
Walmart will continue with providing the following services:
Offer immunizations and provide testing and treatment services
Access to specialty pharmacy medication and care, as well as medication therapy management
A variety of health screenings
A suite of optical tools, including virtual try-on capabilities for eyeglasses
Keeping some services while doing away with others was “a difficult decision,” according to Walmart. The company went on to explain that “the challenging reimbursement environment and escalating operating costs create a lack of profitability.”
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But 53-year-old Humana has clearly figured out how to make the health care industry lucrative and is tagging itself in.
Earlier this week, Humana announced that CenterWell (the health care services business of Humana Inc.) plans to lease clinical space and open senior-focused primary care centers at 23 Walmart Supercenter retail stores in Florida, Georgia, Missouri and Texas.
Recommended Read: “Atrium Health and Best Buy Health partner for at-home care services ~ Tech giant meets health concerns for higher aging communities”
These centers will operate under the CenterWell Senior Primary Care and Conviva Care Centers brand names. Their focus will be to provide local seniors “with greater access to primary care services designed specifically for older adults.”
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And judging from Humana’s impact and name recognition alone, the facilities may last for far longer than Walmart’s five-year run with Walmart Health Centers.
“CenterWell is committed to providing seniors with high-quality health care that is accessible, comprehensive and, most of all, personalized,” said Sanjay Shetty, M.D., president of CenterWell, via press release. “We are excited by the unique opportunity to lease space from a world-class community partner such as Walmart and offer seniors in these four states greater access to our integrated approach to care.”
CenterWell plans to open senior-focused primary care centers adjacent to Walmart Supercenter locations in the following metropolitan areas:
Tampa/St Petersburg, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Atlanta, Georgia
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
Kansas City, Missouri
“These nearly two dozen primary care centers are specifically designed for seniors,” Shetty continued. “Each location’s design, including dedicated entrances and easy parking, offers patients the access that they have come to expect at our clinics across the nation. We are eager to expand on our mission to help patients lead happier, healthier lives.”
According to Humana’s official site, last year, more than 1.8 million members across Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and commercial plans were screened for “social needs,” including 26% of our Medicare Advantage members.
Their Healthy Options allowance — a benefit on select Humana Medicare Advantage plans — provided funds for the following:
Food: approved bakery items, beverages, dairy, deli items, frozen and prepared foods, meat and seafood, produce
Home and personal supplies: cleaning supplies, fans, furnace filters, paper towels, shampoo, soap, space heaters and air conditioners, toothbrushes, toothpaste, toilet paper
Over-the-counter products: allergy medicine, cold and flu medicine, digestive health products, first aid, pain relief, vitamins and supplements
Bill payments: electric, home heating, landline and internet services, water and sewer bills, rent or mortgage payments
Non-medical transportation: public transportation, ride-sharing services, taxis
Assistive devices: grab bars, low-vision aids, raised toilet seats, reaching aids
Disaster preparedness: batteries, bottled water, flashlights, weather radios
While the physical locations from Walmart Health are currently going to be in four states, Humana does have more options. Humana’s Primary Care Organization, comprised of the CenterWell Senior Primary Care and its sister brand Conviva Care Centers, reportedly delivers care to about 318,000 seniors in nearly 300 centers across 15 states as of March 31, 2024.
CenterWell expects the former Walmart Health centers to be equipped, staffed and opened no later than the first half of 2025.
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