The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, wants to become the nation's largest primary health care provider.
The article, which actually originated with KaiserHealthNews.org, says that Wal-Mart is soliciting partner companies to help it provide low-cost primary health care.
According to the Journal's story: "Wal-Mart said in its proposal document that it is interested in offering services including clinical care such as monitoring for asthma, sleep apnea and osteoporosis; diagnostic services such as allergy and blood testing; and preventative services such as vaccinations and physical exams, as well as health and wellness products."
The retail giant has struggled domestically with declining sales and sluggish growth at it's 3,800 U.S. stores, even as it keeps growing overseas. Wal-Mart has shifted its merchandise mix to add back thousands of items taken out of stores in a de-cluttering effort a few years ago, in a bid to lure shoppers back.
Wal-Mart also has a successful line of financial services at its Money Centers, which offer low-cost check cashing and pre-paid debit cards to shoppers, many of whom lack bank accounts. Efforts such as that - and its potential medical services - lure more potential shoppers into the store, boosting traffic and sales.
So will you go to Dr. Wal-Mart? Or is the retail giant already big enough, in your opinion?
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17 comments:
Will they have their famous "Roll Back" prices on health care services?
They want to provide healthcare to everyone...except their employees.
Next thing you know they'll be conducting Church Services. Might as well, there's big money to be made with the God sh!t. Ask Franklin Graham.
Yupper, Franklin learned well from his faddah!
It's something to consider. With my company increasing my costs for medical insurance 15% next year in response to ObamaCare - to be followed by a 2% pay raise - WallyCare may be all I can afford in a few years.
Don't blame Obamacare for the Insurance Companies jumping the rates.....stop drinking the kool-aid that the repubs/teabaggers give out.
Don't ever forget the one thing with Wal Mart - you get what you pay for.
I shop there for some stuff - knowing I'm buying crap imported from China.
Want to "shop" for health care there? Check the diploma on your "doctor's" wall very carefully first. This is about the Walton's making more money - it is *NOT* about making health care affordable.
ObamaCare IS the primary reason health care costs are going up for all. It is Anonymous below who has already had too much kool-aid.
Actually, Walmart has the ability to effect real changes in basic health care. I spent $300 this morning on a partial physical, leaving out many items to keep the cost down. With the right expense structure, that could have been a full physical for half the money. We need companies to enter the market and force basic changes in the way that healthcare is delivered and the price at which it is delivered.
Anon. 6:07: please post a link to some reputable source that back up you comment. If you can't, then quit spreading lies.
Well, I guess you'd at least get billed less than $50 for a aspirin pill.
I go to Dr. Fine at Eastway Walmart. He's a very good eye doctor and he's easy to make an appointment with. The price is reasonable too.
For so many years I didn't have health insurance and this is a great way to go. He's so good I still see him but now I use my insurance card, so it's much more complicated, of course.
I think this will make a big difference in how we all look at healthcare. I think it's a great idea for companies like WalMart to take a broader interest in people. How can we accuse WalMart of being in it for the money; have you paid a doctor bill lately?
Way to go WalMart. Keep thinking smart and keeping the challenge going. I'm interested in what happens.
Great. Chinese doctors with needles hot jars and rhino parts ground up and mixed with snake blood. Just what we need.
ObamaCare is like treating cancer by amputating the leg. In other words, it does not address the CAUSE of high health care costs. It is causing health care costs to rise because the law itself is longer than War and Peace. Do you think it takes 1200 pages to fix health care? I don't. ObamaCare adds bureaucracy, and bureaucracy ain't cheap. Unfortunately, to address the cause of high health care costs, it will require alienating voters and lobbyists. Making everyone buy health insurance is a good idea on paper, but a slippery slope filled with dangers at the bottom.
The best way to lower health care costs is to make emergency rooms for emergencies only, this will get rid of the free health care loophole. (When moochers don't pay, guess who does?) Then make it a law that hospitals and health insurance companies must be non-profit. There is no reason a hospital needs tens of millions of dollars in the bank. Then make it illegal to advertise prescription drugs in any way, shape, or form. And also cap medical malpractice so that medical institutional have no reason to horde cash, and as a side benefit it will put ambulance-chasers out of business.
But this won't pass. Moochers vote liberal who keep giving moochers more stuff, thus rewarding laziness and punishing hard work. Drug companies and other health care businesses can afford to bribe every member of Congress. And many members of Congress made their money to get into Congress by being big money lawyers who certainly won't do anything to hurt their fraternity. Thus the causes will always remain while people slander Obama and the Tea Party depending on which side of the political party they follow like lemmings off the cliff.
Remember: There is no perfect health care system.
John at 6:28....
Interesting you accepted the statement of Anon at 5:39 for any facts...rather you accepted the lie in that statement as fact. Stop being partisan and try 'fair and balanced' for awhile.
Anon @ 6:07
Let me be their $5.00 commercial. No thanks, free $1,000 shopping and they sell your email and phone # to everyone
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