Walmart has announced its decision to close its health centers and virtual care service, citing the challenges of finding a sustainable business model for these offerings. The retail giant launched its health centers five years ago with the goal of helping people save money on their healthcare needs. However, the company has realized that the reimbursement environment and operating costs have made it difficult to achieve profitability.
Despite plans to expand its health centers by opening 28 more locations in March 2023, Walmart has decided to close all 51 health centers in five states due to their lack of profitability. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company opened its first health center in 2019 but has now closed all of them.
Walmart does not have specific dates for when the health centers will close, but employees who worked at these locations are eligible to transfer to any other Walmart or Sam’s Club location. Despite this closure, Walmart will continue to operate almost 4,600 pharmacies and more than 3,000 vision centers across the United States.