Walmart Shuts Down Its Health Clinics in 51 States: Lessons Learned from Retail Giant’s Healthcare Experiment

In 2019, Walmart launched its first health clinic and has since expanded to five states. However, the retail giant recently announced that it will be closing down the health clinics at 51 stores across these states. The decision was made after Walmart found the business to be “unsustainable.” Although no specific date was provided for the closures, sources indicate that they will happen within the next 45 to 90 days.

The clinics were staffed by physicians and licensed care providers, offering services from primary care to behavioral health, as well as lab work and X-rays. Virtual care was also available through the company’s website. Earlier this year, Walmart had planned to expand the number of clinics but decided to close them after receiving new information about reimbursements from insurers. In contrast, Amazon expanded its benefit for Prime members to include access to online services and visits at hundreds of One Medical clinics. On the other hand, Walgreens announced the closure of 160 Village MD clinics after experiencing a $5.8 billion loss in the business.

Despite the clinic closures, Walmart will continue to operate pharmacies at around 4,600 stores across the US, with over 4,000 of these locations in “medical provider shortage areas.” The company sees its pharmacies as an integral part of providing healthcare to customers and considers them to be the front door to healthcare in many communities.