Walmart will close many health centers as well as its telehealth operations due to exorbitant operating and reimbursement costs, the big-box retailer announced Tuesday.
Since 2019, the company has opened 51 one-stop health centers, each located adjacent to Walmart Supercenter locations across five states.
Walmart initially said its goal was to build more than 75 clinics — where patients could get dental, medical and behavioral health services such as X-rays and deep teeth cleanings — across the country by the end of this year.
“This is a difficult decision, and like others, the challenging reimbursement environment and escalating operating costs are creating a lack of profitability that makes the healthcare industry unsustainable for us at all. ‘current time,’ the company said in a blog post on Tuesday.
The company declined to reveal how much money it invested in building the clinics.
Walmart also did not disclose how much revenue these clinics generate.
The retailer also did not say how many jobs it would cut as a result of the move, although it added that associates affected by the closures would be allowed to transfer to any other Walmart or Sam’s location. Club.
Walmart said it would continue to operate its thousands of pharmacies and vision centers across the country.
The retailer’s foray into the primary care sector was sparked by intense competition in the booming, multibillion-dollar healthcare sector, where chains such as CVS and Walgreens have also expanded their footprints.
Last year, Walmart reportedly considered acquiring a stake in ChenMed as part of a strategy to attract customers enrolled in private Medicare.
Walmart isn’t the only company struggling to get a bigger piece of the pie due to rising insurance premiums.
Walgreens, which paid $5.2 billion to acquire primary care provider VillageMD, said it would close 160 of the VillageMD clinics it had opened at its retail locations.
Last quarter, Walgreens announced a $5.8 billion writedown related to VillageMD.
Walmart also announced the closure of its telehealth service, MeMD, which it acquired at the height of the pandemic in 2021.
Demand for telehealth services plummeted after COVID-related mitigation measures ended that allowed people to see their doctors in person.
The Post has requested comment from Walmart.
New York Post
