Walmart expands virtual healthcare benefits
Walmart is expanding virtual primary care to allow Walmart associates and their families the option to develop long-standing relationships with doctors across the country, Lisa Woods, vice president of well-being, wrote in a blog post on the company’s website.
“We all know it’s not always easy to get in to see a doctor – from the wait to schedule an appointment to the referrals from one doctor to another, to the arrangement of travel that often comes with seeing the right specialist. As the nation’s largest private employer and a major investor in the health and well-being of associates, we are all too familiar with the challenges our associates face and the misalignment between the need for primary care and the supply,” Woods wrote.
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As part of this expansion, virtual care options for digestive health and physical therapy also will be available, including some basic at-home lab work early next year. Most virtual health care benefits are available at no cost to associates and their families.
Woods pointed out that long before the COVID-19 pandemic, Walmart started laying the foundation for virtual care for simple sick needs, such as sore throats and colds, not knowing how much the world, and the health care needs of associates were about to change.
“The pandemic accelerated the need for on-demand access to quality providers, which built upon the solid foundation of our existing virtual care strategy," Woods wrote. "This also included enhanced mental health benefits our associates and their families can take advantage of at no cost, whether they are enrolled in a Walmart medical plan or not.”
Woods provided the following timeline:
FIRST GENERATION:
Virtual care introduced to associates
SECOND GENERATION:
Rapidly increasing access
THIRD GENERATION:
Realizing meaningful value
2016
- Virtual urgent care and therapy
- Addressing “simple sick” needs
2019
- Added virtual Psychiatry
- Implemented $4 copay
2020
- Virtual Primary Care pilot
- $0 copay for virtual care
2022
- Virtual Primary Care program expands
- Specialists consults available
2023
- Announcing today: Virtual Primary Care program expands across the country
Woods wrote that in 2019 about 50% of associates and their family members were not seeing primary care physicians and a big part of that gap was due to access. "We have reimagined what’s possible when it comes to unlocking ways for our associates and their families to receive care when they need it, wherever they call home.”
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Woods continued, “With the goal in mind of continuing to build a better, more comprehensive health care experience, along with reducing unnecessary in-patient and emergency room visits, we launched a virtual primary care pilot to three states in 2020."
After seeing success across the board, Walmart expanded this virtual care pilot to 16 states and then to 21 states in 2023. This is what Walmart saw and learned during the pilot with its associates and their families:
- Approximately 33% were over age 45;
- About 30% were seen for a chronic condition or preventative care;
- Those with diabetes who used the virtual primary care option saw a 24% average reduction in HbA1c levels;
- Patients with hypertension experienced a 14% reduction in blood pressure; and
- An 11% reduction in total cost of care.
Owen Tripp, CEO of Included Health, Walmart’s healthcare partner for the virtual primary care expansion, said, “Over the past three and a half years, Walmart has tested and validated the role of virtual care beyond simple sick needs. Against national primary care shortages, rural healthcare deserts, and persistent price growth, Walmart has continued to move health care forward.”
Lastly, Woods said, “We’re meeting people where they are and removing barriers of time, travel and cost at the same time. At the end of the day, we’re offering affordable, accessible health care for our associates and their families, which ties back to our mission at Walmart: helping people save money so they can live better.”
These are the states included in the expansion: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming. Walmart already offers the benefit in all other states, except Hawaii.