Walmart's Healthcare Experiment Has Begun, It May Be A Game Changer

Mises.org ^ | 09/17/2019 | Gary North

[aquila48]

I live in exactly the right location to see the outcome of a grand experiment. The pilot Walmart Supercenter is located in Dallas, Georgia. So am I.

On Friday the 13th, the CEO of Walmart cut the ribbon at the grand opening. Sadly, I only learned about this grand opening on the morning of September 14. There had been no publicity while the store was being remodeled over the last 12 months.

So, what you are about to read is based on original research conducted on the cheap on the afternoon of September 14.

1. A Right-Hand Turn

My house is about 60 seconds from the highway.

If I turn to the right and drive approximately 1.7 miles, I arrive at the Walmart Supercenter.

I walked into this Supercenter through a new wing: Walmart Health. There, I found a health care delivery system that is far more comprehensive than the standard walk-in clinics that have sprung up in America's mini-malls. Here is what is available.

- Primary care

- Dental

- Counseling

- Labs & x-rays

- Health screening

- Optometry

- Hearing

- Fitness & nutrition

- Health insurance education & enrollment

I have seen it. I am impressed.

Here is Walmart's press release.

The Walmart Health center will offer low, transparent pricing for key health services to provide great care at a great value, regardless of insurance coverage. Customers will be notified on the estimated cost of their visit when they book their appointment.

The Walmart Health center will be operated by qualified medical professionals, including physicians, nurse practitioners, dentists, behavioral health providers, and optometrists. Walmart Care Hosts and Community Health Workers onsite will help customers navigate their visit, understand resources and be a familiar presence for regular visits.

[Sequoyah101]

THAT is the thing, an alternative and competition. It has not done a whole lot for the small pharmacy rates though but I know they must feel it.

[Sequoyah101]

If it were “not for profit” why would the board be compelled to pay anyone a lot of money to make more money? It certainly is not to make the place more efficient and affordable for altruistic reasons.

“Not for profit” medicine where hospitals are concerned went out the window when tricky dick’s buddy george kiaser convinced him otherwise. Why would he have done that? I wonder? Follow the money.

[jimmygrace]

This is awesome! It will drive down costs everywhere else. Meanwhile, the dimocrats are talking about spending $3 Trillion on health care beaurocracy.

[dp0622]

Thanks. Yeah I had a great dentist that charged me so little and let me pay monthly and of course idiots screwed that up by not paying him and so he stopped that practice.

[Tired of Taxes]

This is great news!

For years, some of the drug store chains have had small clinics staffed by nurse-practitioners.

But Walmart is taking the idea much, much further. Hope it all works out!

[VideoDoctor]

Your post #79 clearly points out the underlying aspects of this becoming a real "game changer" because of the powerful options available to implementing it.

Good post!

[GOPJ]

Non-profit is a tax scam... nothing more. Maybe in an earlier time it had other meanings, but not today...

[monkeyshine]

It is a good market based solution to what may be (at least according to some pundits) the #1 problem - the lack of ‘preventive care’. So, here is the path to resolve that. Cheap medical exams, blood tests, x-rays and other examinations.

Even Dentistry plays a part, as dentists often are the first to find symptoms of various diseases including tonsillitis, strep throat, mouth lesions, oral cancer etc.

Seems like this is a sort of upgrade to the “free clinic” concept - community based preventive care and exams at a low cost. And it is smart for a company like WalMart to roll it out - they have the square footage to offer it, they are accessible, they serve many rural communities, and as a competitive move against Amazon they have another reason to bring people into their stores one or two more times a year.

It’s good capitalism, a market based solution to problems with medical accessibility. Increasing supply of medical care is the way to reduce the cost of medical care. Not top down dictates.

As an aside, a doctor on the UK’s NHS makes about 1/2 to 1/3 what a doctor in a major US City makes. I don’t think doctors are going to be in favor of single payer.

[TruthWillWin]

Doc in a box.

[GOPJ]

Thanks for your kind words VideoDoctor...

Trump can piggyback the idea... it’ll encourage others to see the possibilities. You’re right - it’s a game changer.

AND it’ll get us the votes we need from young people. It changes our health care systems without tearing down the good we have...

Also, we’re more credible than democrats - Trump WILL keep his word (much more so than a Biden, Warren or Bernie who will never get their ‘pie in the sky’ plans through Congress). And a plan like this appeals to young voters... people who tend to be healthy AND sometimes take the risk of not being insured or just need help with deductibles...like young families stressed with co-pays... It could be %500 a person and still have the needed effect... It’s a political winner...

[GOPJ]

Thanks for your kind words VideoDoctor...

Trump can piggyback the idea... it'll encourage others to see the possibilities. You're right - it's a game changer.

AND it'll get us the votes we need from young people. It changes our health care systems without tearing down the good we have...

Also, we're more credible than democrats - Trump WILL keep his word (much more so than a Biden, Warren or Bernie who will never get their 'pie in the sky' plans through Congress). And a plan like this appeals to young voters... people who tend to be healthy AND sometimes take the risk of not being insured or just need help with deductibles...like young families stressed with copays...

It could be $500 a person and still have the needed effect... It's a political winner...

[US_MilitaryRules]

Be sure to open carry when you go visit the Dr.!

[gattaca]

My mom bought some titanium glasses at an optical shop recently, $500. The screws have fallen out twice so far, just in the last few months.

[GOPJ]

Thanks for your kind words... another advantage over ‘free clinics’ is this doesn't carry the stigma of charity. There's dignity in choosing your own doctor without having to be grateful...

This is an upgrade to the “free clinic” concept - community based preventive care and exams at a low cost.

Also doctors who are happiest in the country - and the most innovative are ... wait for it... plastic surgeons... and why you might ask?

Because they deal directly with the patient for cash since most insurance polities don't cover them. Medical care is a product... and a good one. But it's been run the past 50 years much like it was run ... well... 50 years ago. This entry by Walmart will change that in a positive way.

And Trump can build a health security concept around the changes... for not much money and one that will help almost all Americans. The AMA has kept effective competition out of medical care for waaaaaaay too long. Thank God for Walmart...

[Rebelbase]

"I went to Law School here at Costco".

[GOPJ]

As an aside, a doctor on the UK’s NHS makes about 1/2 to 1/3 what a doctor in a major US City makes. I don’t think doctors are going to be in favor of single payer.

New doctors and retired doctors will love this system because they get standard hours, don't have to worry about the business side of running an office AND don't have to pay the high malpractice insurance. It's a win for the old docs and for the young and for patients.

If Trump offers a $600 per year per citizen payment (to be used at the patients discretion) it will be a health care system that could put him over the top. People could spend the money at Walmart, or copays, for glasses, and all citizens would gain from the $600. Even seniors on Medicare Advantage could use the money for copays...

[moehoward]

“I suspect this $25 dental cleaning is just a 15-minute quick-job ....”

Figure the average Walmart shopper only has a hand full of teeth left. So $25 is just about right.

[moehoward]

“I’ve been to a couple of their optometrists and I’m not impressed.”

That’s what I was wondering as well. I bought my last pair there. Ended up being almost as much as my first pair from LensCrafters, and as you’d expect the Walmart glasses were in no where subpar quality. Now to be fair I suspect the optometrist just rented space in the Walmart. A few months later when I went through they were gone and the space was empty.

I wonder if these folks will be Walmart employed or just renting space.

[dfwgator]

I’ve been to a couple of their optometrists and I’m not impressed.

Me after visiting Wal-Mart.

[monkeyshine]

Your $600 per person idea is intriguing. It steals a lot of thunder from the Yangs as well as from the free healthcare for all push. I am very disappointed that the GOP had years to repeal and replace Obamacare but when given the chance had nothing in place.

Alone that $600 project is not enough, but it’s a good marketing ploy and a good thing for the people to offset some of the costs that Obamacare imposed on everyone. Use it with your insurance or as cash payment anywhere - including glasses, teeth, exams & tests etc. Cut the out of pocket expenses from many plans.

I don’t recall all the details - but I recall reading/hearing about a push for national health care during the Nixon admin. He was opposed to any kind of NHS system. But then his advisers told him about Kaiser Permanente. KP is a doctor owned cooperative. They sell policies and members of KP can go to any KP doctor, clinic... and today 40 years later they have large hospitals located all over the place out west. They may be the single largest insurance and provider in California. It is cost effective, though like all plans the costs and deductibles have almost doubled since Obamacare. They have the silver/gold/platinum plans like other insurers do I’m not quite sure what differences there are. Anyway, Nixon was very much in favor of the KP type market based solutions of doctors joining cooperatives. This WalMart plan is in the same vein.

There are other issues that can be solved fairly simply. Nobody should be bankrupted by medical costs, so, pass a law that prevents any medical care judgments from taking a person’s home or their savings/income up to a certain amount. In addition, and I am no fan of taxes, but think of the FDIC bank insurance system. Banks pay a small % of their holdings into the fund every year and if any bank goes under the FDIC bails out the depositors. DO the same thing with medical care. Put a small transaction cost on medical services that goes into an FDIC fund to cover some portion of provider losses due to patients inability to pay.

These are all market based solutions to the problem that would help a lot. And I agree, the AMA needs to lighten up. As diagnostic tests and equipment improves, diseases will be easier to spot. Not something for today perhaps, but maybe when techniques improve there can be different levels of doctors and nurses. Do you really need 12 years of training to set a broken bone? The key (and main problem) is that when people show up with a broken bone they may have other problems and doctors need to be able to identify those. But that is when other diagnostic techniques can come in.