Walmart plans to open health centers in eight Houston-area stores in early 2024 as part of a broader expansion of the company’s primary care footprint.
The new Walmart Health clinics will open in the first quarter of 2024, the company said Thursday in a press release. They will be located next to Walmart Supercenters, but the company did not specify which stores will get the new health centers.
Walmart Health opened its first location in Georgia in 2019. Services vary by location, but include primary care, urgent care, dental, behavioral health, lab, x-ray, optometry and hearing services. The company also offers telehealth through Walmart Health Virtual Care.
Walmart plans to open 28 new health centers — including 10 in the Dallas area — by early 2024. The company said it plans to have 75 locations in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri and Texas by the end of next year.
“With this growth in 2024, we will nearly double our current footprint, offer accessible, convenient and affordable care in two new states and expand our presence in Texas to help the communities we serve live better, healthier lives,” Dr. David Caramouche , Walmart’s senior vice president of omnichannel care, said in the press release.
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The expansion comes as competitors such as CVS, Walgreens and Amazon are also focusing more on healthcare. Walgreens has said it plans to open at least 600 primary care locations with VillageMD by 2025. CVS Health has more than 1,100 MinuteClinic locations across the U.S. and recently acquired primary care company Oak Street Health. And Amazon recently closed a deal to buy primary care provider One Medical.
The new Walmart Health locations will be approximately 5,750 square feet and feature a redesigned layout intended to reduce the time a patient spends in the waiting room and increase the time they spend with a physician, the news release said. They will also include updated equipment and technology.
Walmart Health accepts many major insurance plans, but also treats patients who do not have insurance. The company has said it is committed to being transparent with its pricing; for example, a recent price list for services at a Walmart Health in Georgia lists annual checkups for adults at $90, annual checkups for children at $70, and sick or injury visits from $70 to $150.
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Walmart said it is in a unique position to address health care equity and access in underserved areas because 90 percent of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of a Walmart.
Last year, the company announced it was launching the Walmart Healthcare Research Institute, which will focus on ensuring that underrepresented populations are included in clinical research. On Tuesday, the company announced a partnership with the nonprofit CareSource to address cardiometabolic conditions and maternal health in underserved communities.
