OAN’s James Meyers
8:05 AM – Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Walmart has announced that they are shutting down all 51 health care centers in six states and are ending virtual health care services, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
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The clinics, located in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri and Texas, had been open for a few years. However, Walmart pharmacies and vision centers will not be affected.
Additionally, patients with scheduled appointments will continue to be seen, and Walmart will continue to make efforts to send patients to providers that are available under the patient’s insurance care, according to CNBC.
The consumer store had the goal of using its financial scale and store base to offer low-cost services to patients in low-income and underserved areas that did not provide many primary care options.
“One of the unique things was they were focused on stores located in underserved communities. It’s disappointing that Walmart wasn’t able to make it work because these patients need care and don’t have as many options,” said Ateev Mehrotra, a professor of health care policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School who researches retail health clinics.
The company spoke on the big announcement saying it was a “difficult decision,” but stated that the health care option was not sustainable for the company because of the “challenging reimbursement environment and escalating operating costs.”
“We determined there is not a sustainable business model for us to continue,” the company said.
The announcement by Walmart comes after last month, Walgreens closed 140 of its VillageMD primary care clinics, with plans to close at least 20 more.
“This experience highlights the financial struggles that primary care has in general. It really speaks to what primary clinics are facing,” Mehrotra said.
Meanwhile, Walmart has said they will continue operations of its 4,600 pharmacies and more than 3,000 optical centers around the U.S.
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