Staying healthy takes longer for rural and low-income Americans, leaving them behind the wheel of a car or at the doctor's office, experts say, following Walmart's decision last month to exit the primary care business. The waiting time will be longer.
Walmart announced on April 30 that it would close all 51 Walmart Health Centers in five states and discontinue virtual health care services, citing an “unsustainable business model.”
The move marked a sudden shift for the giant retailer. Last month, the company announced plans to expand its 24/7 virtual health care, which includes video, chat and phone, as well as brick-and-mortar health care centers. We are open the same hours and days as our stores and are staffed by primary care physicians and certified nurses.
Experts say the changes also reflect larger economic challenges for the health care industry, which is struggling with low government reimbursement for primary care, a shortage of nurses and doctors, and rising costs for supplies and labor.
What are those Americans doing now?
Hal Andrews, chief executive officer of health care consulting firm Trilliant Health, said the closure could be a short-term problem for patients in rural and regional areas, where Walmart offers limited resources. He said this would mean it would be difficult to travel long distances if they were found.
“People are going to have to go back to driving to big cities,” Andrews said. “It takes a whole day to go to the doctor. It's a setback.”
When Walmart entered primary care in 2019, 90% of Americans live within 10 miles of a Walmart store, making primary care for dental, vision, mental health, and more accessible and easy for many Americans. He said that he could make it acceptable to the public.
But Walmart has realized that affordable care is out of reach for providers, even for retail giants known for squeezing profits out of low-margin businesses like grocery stores.
“Primary care margins are as small as grocery margins,” Andrews said.
“This was a difficult decision. As with our other decisions, the difficult reimbursement environment and increasing operating costs have created a lack of profitability, making our long-term care business unsustainable at this time,” Walmart said in a statement.
Brian Marks, a senior lecturer in economics and business analysis at the University of New Haven, said these economics illuminate the challenges of running a health care business. “This suggests that there is a problem and that we need to reconsider our primary health care delivery system.”
Walmart said only its vision centers and pharmacies that were not part of Walmart Health will remain open.
Who will be most directly affected by the Walmart Health closure?
Walmart operated most of its centers in rural, low-income, and underserved areas in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, and Texas. Trilliant's Mr Andrews said these areas would be hardest hit by the closures.
Marcus Osborn, former vice president of health and wellness innovation at Walmart, told CNN in 2020 that many patients who come to the clinic haven't seen a primary care physician in two to three years, or haven't seen a dentist in five years. He told CNN that in many cases, they do not receive the necessary medical treatment. My first counselor.
Closures: Walmart is closing all 51 health centers: See complete list of locations
If Walmart can't succeed, who can?
Experts say even Walmart, with its financial muscle, is unable to recruit enough health care workers amid a workforce shortage and is struggling to figure out how to provide convenient, affordable primary care and turn a profit. He said he couldn't find it either.
“It's a terrible sign that Wal-Mart, a leading Fortune 500 company, is unable or has decided not to continue,” Andrews said.
Other competitors in the retail primary care space are also struggling.
Walgreens announced last month that it would close 160 Village MD clinics nationwide, and Amazon announced job cuts in its One Medical primary care and Amazon Pharmacy divisions in February.
Meanwhile, CVS said it is expanding its Oak Street Health Clinic, which specializes in primary care for seniors, but earlier this year it closed part of its Minito Clinic, which serves nearly all age groups. Closed.
Why Walmart Health is closing its doors and why other companies may also struggle
Webb Golinkin, a former healthcare CEO and author of “Here Be Dragons: One Man's Quest to Make Healthcare More Accessible and Affordable,” says all of these companies face similar financial hurdles. said it is likely to lead to the consolidation of medical clinics.
“We have flashing yellow lights here,” he said.
The Walmart Health Clinic pictured last year in Jacksonville had five locations. Walmart announced Tuesday that all 51 Walmart Health Centers in five states will soon close.
Where do Americans go for primary care?
No one can predict the future, but many experts believe virtual care, or telemedicine, will become a bigger part of care.
Some warn that telemedicine can still pose financial challenges for companies. They noted that Walmart Health covered brick-and-mortar clinics and telemedicine, but the company has closed both.
During the pandemic, Americans have been forced to shift to virtual care, and “it's going to be a part of healthcare forever,” says Michael, co-founder of Sesame, a healthcare marketplace that connects patients and providers.・Mr. Botta said.
Costco partner Sesame offers 24/7 virtual primary and mental health care at discounted prices. We also offer standard laboratory testing and in-person testing.
Sesame does not accept insurance, which means it does not rely on reimbursement and says it is able to offer patients low and transparent pricing. Patients can pay individual providers on a per-visit basis or participate in its subscription model for ongoing care.
Andrews is skeptical of telemedicine. When it comes to mental health, he said, telemedicine is effective because people are comfortable talking remotely, but most patients prefer the personal interaction of a physical exam.
Telemedicine can also be a challenge for businesses.
“There are no barriers to entry other than the iPhone and Wi-Fi,” Andrews said. “No one can build a competitive moat around it.”
Instead, he sees primary care returning to offices and hospitals, with clinics opening for immediate treatment in densely populated areas with better economic conditions.
None of that will help the rural, low-income and underserved communities that Walmart has left behind, he said.
To ease the ongoing shortage of health care workers, the University of New Haven Marks School expects to change regulations to allow non-physicians, such as nurses and physician assistants, to provide more services.
But until all this happens, people should get used to “increased wait times,” Marks said.
Medora Lee is USA TODAY's money, markets and personal finance reporter. Please contact us at mjlee@usatoday.com. Subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday to Friday morning.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Walmart healthcare closure could mean reduced access for rural patients
