Walmart and UnitedHealth Group collaborate to provide affordable health care

Select Walmart Health locations will help improve people's health outcomes by advancing value-based care, backed by proven Optum clinical capabilities. Over time, the collaboration will expand to include more products and services.

Walmart Inc. and UnitedHealth Group announced today the start of a 10-year broad collaboration, bringing together both companies' collective expertise in serving millions of people with high-quality, affordable health services that improve health outcomes and the patient experience.

The partnership will begin in 2023 with 15 Walmart Health locations in Florida and Georgia, and will eventually serve hundreds of thousands of seniors and Medicare beneficiaries in value-based arrangements through multiple Medicare Advantage plans.

Optum, a UnitedHealth Group company, will assist Walmart Health clinicians in delivering comprehensive value-based care that can help drive positive health outcomes for seniors and Medicare beneficiaries by providing analytics and decision support tools. These capabilities will complement the care already provided at Walmart Health centers, which provide high-quality, accessible care through a collaborative, team-based delivery model, and will aid in the transition to value-based care by allowing clinicians to focus on patient outcomes.

"We're on a journey to transform health care, connecting more people to the right care at the right time — at a reasonable cost,"

said Walmart CEO Doug McMillon.

“This collaboration puts the patient at the center of health care by leveraging the strength and complementary skill sets of our two companies to accelerate access to quality care.”

"UnitedHealth Group and Walmart share a deep commitment to high-quality, affordable primary care-led services that address all of a patient's health needs in ways that are convenient for them and improve health outcomes,"

said UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty.

The collaboration will include a co-branded Medicare Advantage plan in Georgia, UnitedHealthcare® Medicare Advantage Walmart Flex (HMO-POS)*, beginning in January 2023. Walmart Health Virtual Care will also be in network for commercial members in UnitedHealthcare's Choice Plus PPO plan beginning in January 2023, giving consumers another option for accessing care when and where they want it.

Eventually, the collaboration hopes to serve even more people, including those covered by commercial and Medicaid plans, by increasing access to fresh food and improving current initiatives addressing social determinants of health, over-the-counter and prescription medications, and dental and vision services.

Source: Walmart newsroom