Wal-Mart to open 400 in-store clinics
Wal-Mart to open 400 in-store clinics
Tue Apr 24, 2007 4:54PM EDT
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.
The company has tried to counter such attacks, taking steps like selling generic drugs for $4 per prescription, and joining with the 1.8 million-member Service Employees International Union, one of its most vocal labor foes, to call for universal health-care coverage for all Americans by 2012.
The retailer said on Tuesday that $4 prescriptions now account for more than 35 percent of all prescriptions filled at Wal-Mart, and nearly 30 percent of the $4 prescriptions are filled without insurance.
Wal-Mart said the health clinics, which will lease space in its stores, will be managed by local or regional hospitals and/or other organizations that are independent of Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart is not alone in pursuing these clinics. Drug store operators like CVS/Caremark Corp. and Walgreen Co are also putting clinics in their stores, hoping to attract Americans looking for less expensive treatment options amid soaring health-care costs.
Wal-Mart shares fell 1 percent to $48.45 in afternoon New York Stock Exchange trading.
© Reuters 2006. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
Reuters journalists are subject to the
Reuters Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
Tue Apr 24, 2007 4:54PM EDT
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.
The company has tried to counter such attacks, taking steps like selling generic drugs for $4 per prescription, and joining with the 1.8 million-member Service Employees International Union, one of its most vocal labor foes, to call for universal health-care coverage for all Americans by 2012.
The retailer said on Tuesday that $4 prescriptions now account for more than 35 percent of all prescriptions filled at Wal-Mart, and nearly 30 percent of the $4 prescriptions are filled without insurance.
Wal-Mart said the health clinics, which will lease space in its stores, will be managed by local or regional hospitals and/or other organizations that are independent of Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart is not alone in pursuing these clinics. Drug store operators like CVS/Caremark Corp. and Walgreen Co are also putting clinics in their stores, hoping to attract Americans looking for less expensive treatment options amid soaring health-care costs.
Wal-Mart shares fell 1 percent to $48.45 in afternoon New York Stock Exchange trading.
© Reuters 2006. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
Reuters journalists are subject to the
Reuters Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
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