Wal-Mart to open 400 in-store clinics

[The Straight Story]

Wal-Mart to open 400 in-store clinics

By Nicole Maestri

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said on Tuesday that it will contract with local hospitals and other organizations to open as many as 400 in-store health clinics in the next two to three years.

Should current market forces continue, the world's largest retailer said up to 2,000 clinics could be in Wal-Mart stores over the next five to seven years.

Wal-Mart said the effort marks an expansion of a pilot program it started in 2005, when it leased space within its stores to medical clinics. Currently, it said 76 clinics are operating inside Wal-Mart stores in 12 states.

It has said the clinics are expected to boost the health of its shoppers and should also help sales by drawing consumers into its stores.

"We think the clinics will be a great opportunity for our business. But most importantly, they are going to provide something our customers and communities desperately need -- affordable access at the local level to quality health care," said Wal-Mart Chief Executive Officer Lee Scott in a statement.

Wal-Mart has endured criticism over the years from labor unions that say it pays inadequate wages and pushes employees onto government aid programs.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyid=2007-04-24T205450Z_01_WEN6901_RTRUKOC_0_US-WALMART-CLINICS.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

Well, maybe they will give their employees some health care options finally....naw....

[youngdem]

1. I can't believe things are so bad that I think that this is a good development

[emilyg]

13. i do, too

[Horse with no Name]

2. 16 tons comes to mind

"Some people say a man is made outta mud
A poor man's made outta muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bones
A mind that's a-weak and a back that's strong

You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store"


No thanks.

[krkaufman]

4. Yes, interesting. Will WALMART workers be limited to ONLY seeking help...

... from these clinics?

[Horse with no Name]

6. I had a patient in the ER recently

who was a Walmart employee. She needed an appropriate referral for a followup and said the only Doctor in town that accepted their new insurance wasn't taking new patients.
What to do?
Open clinics in the store that do not accept their insurance...but instead offer a convenient employee deduction plan for their healthcare needs.
As I said "I owe my soul to the company store".

[krkaufman]

3. Note that WALMARTS' own employee health care plan won't cover visits to these clinics.

:) (I'm kidding, but I didn't see any explicit statement to the contrary in the article.)

[demosincebirth]

5. Are they going to import the doctors from China, too?

[Horse with no Name]

7. You laugh

Asian docs are for the most part very well-educated and intelligent.
This wouldn't be a bad thing.

[bleedingheart]

8. I am going to laugh my ass off when the American Medical Association starts to bitch

cuz I see it coming...

you see Wal-Mart might make this care 24-7...cuz they can afford to...

and when that happens...even the insured will go there for help because it will be cheaper and more convenient that the local ER for stuff like earaches and the like (the kind of stuff the private practices make a good bit of money on)....

[napi21]

9. I haven't seen anything recently on this (within the last 5-6 months)

but what I saw then was what they called affordable WASN'T! The cost was to be $65-%70 per visit. Now, I agree that's less than the cost of a trip to the er, however, if you don't have enough money to pay for insurance, it's actually cheaper to go to the er because they HAVE to treat you, and when you can't pay, they write it off!!!!!

Now,m I would say this WM thing would be a great idea if the visits cost $20 or less. After all, you won't be seeing a Dr! At best, you'll be seeing a "licensed physicians assistant, or perhapse a nurse. I'm not putting those professions down at all, but I suspect these visits actually WITH the professional will be as L O N G as 10 minutes MAYBE???

Sorry folks, WM's program of selling a list of prescription drugs for $4 eachwas a great one! That's a lot oess than my copay, and although I won't go to WM, quite a few other businesses have matched the WM program, so GOOD FOR THEM ALL!

This new program IMO is propaganda BS!!!!

[Colobo]

10. I went to the one in my neighborhood Wal-Mart and

they are pretty affordable and good if you don't have anything major.

If you have something somewhat serious, avoid them like the plague.

[Ilsa]

11. Next they'll be renting out low-cost 10' x 8' rooms.

Folks can live there, work there, get food at the McD's inside, and get their healthcare there. They'll never have to leave.

[Spinzonner]

12. Let's see

Lots of people with potentially contagious diseases coming to a place with lots of traffic, including kids, and lots of surfaces and contained and recycled air supplies.

This is a good idea ?

[SaveElmer]

18. Exactly what I was thinking...

As if I already didn't hate shopping at Wal Mart, this would definietly do though!

[MisterHowdy]

14. Walmart doesn't give a F*@% about people

No company like walmart should have anything to do with medical care.

Just my opinion of course.

[Thothmes]

17. F*@% about people

Do you suppose any health insurance company cares any more about people's health than Wal Mart

[bonito]

15. Wal-mart is the lifesaver

Their tossing at us as they steal the ship, think about it.

[Clark2008]

16. So if you shop til you drop, they can revitalize you long enough

to pay for their chinzy Chinese crap?

:shrug: