{"id":60834,"date":"2021-01-29T17:01:40","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T17:01:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clarivate.com\/cortellis\/?p=60834"},"modified":"2021-01-29T17:01:40","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T17:01:40","slug":"retail-giant-walmart-enters-the-u-s-health-insurance-sector-with-medicare-plan-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clarivate.com\/life-sciences-healthcare\/blog\/retail-giant-walmart-enters-the-u-s-health-insurance-sector-with-medicare-plan-play\/","title":{"rendered":"Retail giant Walmart enters the U.S. health insurance sector with Medicare plan play"},"content":{"rendered":"

Big box behemoth Walmart is getting into the U.S. market for health insurance with a pilot effort in Georgia. If successful, it could offer coverage to millions of American seniors and would represent the latest example of a chimeric healthcare offering covering payment, provision and distribution. Clarivate market access analysts Parvathy Menon and Sayantani Biswas discuss key trends. <\/em><\/p>\n

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In October 2020, Walmart announced its insurance arm, Walmart Insurance Services<\/a>, will begin to sell Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplemental and Part D plans in 2021. Walmart plans to market its Medicare health plans, called LiveHealthy<\/a>, with Clover Health in eight Georgia counties initially. The two plans offered by Walmart have no copay on Part D deductibles, include $100 every quarter to spend on over-the-counter items at Walmart, and offer savings on dental benefits and hearing aids. Although the plan has broad network, members will not have to pay extra to go out-of-network.<\/p>\n

With the youngest baby boomers turning 65 by 2030 and enrollment peaking by then, entering Medicare seems like a safe bet for Walmart. As most established insurers gear up for the enrollment peak, Walmart is stepping into a potentially lucrative segment. Medicare<\/a> also remains the rare sector which has seen few enrollment shifts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Walmart has chosen Georgia to pilot its Medicare plans because it has six Walmart Health centers and plans to expand retail care. In addition, Walmart has partnered with a long list of providers to create a broad network for its PPO plan.<\/p>\n

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Walmart\u2019s partnerships give them a substantial footprint<\/h3>\n

Walmart\u2019s association with Clover Health, a startup that showed a substantial enrollment increase, matches the retailer\u2019s vision of expanding its footprint. Clover Health\u2019s successful presence in eight states should offer Walmart a foothold. The partnership will utilize Clover Health\u2019s technology to monitor patients using Walmart\u2019s health clinics. Clover Health\u2019s PPO provider networks are broad, with low out-of-pocket cost.<\/p>\n

Together with Walmart\u2019s partnership with Oak Street Health, a network of 60 value-based primary care centers, its expansion of Walmart Health centers in 2021 and its establishment of primary care clinics point to big expansion plans.<\/p>\n

When Walmart starts to market its Medicare plans in 2021, Georgia seniors will have access to Walmart\u2019s Health centers much like Aetna\u2019s Connected plan in Kansas City, which allows free access to CVS MinuteClinics and HealthHUBs. Also, Walmart has worked with Anthem\u2019s Medicare plan in the past and the retailer has decided to use similar benefits for its LiveHealthy plan.<\/p>\n

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Key takeaways:<\/h3>\n