Walmart, the big box company has grown by leaps and bounds during the pandemic. It has expanded its online business, converted stores to pick up centers, added initiatives like Walmart+ programs. It has also tested driverless vehicles to deliver groceries in a loop.
Walmart had also launched the first “Walmart Health”, in September 2019, at a super center in Dallas, Georgia. This clinic offers primary health care with doctors and dentists. Services including X-Rays, an annual health checkup and dental care are available. It has opened another fifty in-store clinics and is planning to open seven more in 2021.
The health care business is huge in America. Health care costs are increasing, and Walmart and its competitors Walgreens and CVS Health are plunging into the market to capture as much of it as possible. Americans spend $3.6 trillion on health care each year. It is a huge market, but it has its pitfalls.
In 2019 more than 35 million Americans were uninsured. Walmart wants to tap into this market by offering services in its primary health care clinics across the state. The clinics could be supplemented with medicines and other required products from the Walmart stores or ordered online.
However, there will be challenges as doctors and health care workers are expensive to hire. Walmart is known for its high volumes and low rates. Will consumers accept that it can offer high quality medical services? Nobody likes to comprise on the quality of their health.
