Why the Very Things That Made Walmart Health’s Behavioral Efforts Unique Ultimately Led to Its Downfall

Behavioral Health Business May 29, 2024
Laura Lovett

In April, Walmart (NYSE: WMT) announced it would close its 51 health centers and virtual care programs, including several behavioral health programs. The company declared that its health segment simply did not offer a “sustainable business model” for it to continue.

When Walmart Health launched in 2019, it set out to expand access to care and boost price transparency – two things the behavioral health world especially could have benefitted from. And behavioral health offerings were a substantial part of what Walmart’s health care arm did.

Patients could go to a health center to access counseling for depression, anxiety, stress, grief, relationship issues, alcohol use, ADHD and other conditions. Walmart also virtually offered psychiatrist visits.

However, at the end of...

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