Walmart is testing a new healthcare center, and you don’t need insurance

Walmart is refocusing its healthcare offerings with its first Walmart Health center, which recently opened next to a Walmart store in Dallas, Georgia. The retailer used a team of healthcare experts and visionaries inside and outside of Walmart to bring the concept to life.

“The journey we’ve been on is just the beginning as we aim to bring quality, accessible healthcare to our customers,” Sean Slovenski, Walmart’s SVP and president of health and wellness, wrote in a news release.

Regardless of your insurance status, you are welcome as a patient at a Walmart Health center. Services include primary care, labs, x-rays, counseling, dental, optical, hearing and community health education.

That’s a lot of services all in one place — most folks can’t visit their dentist, optometrist and doctor in the same facility.

Walmart isn’t brand-new to offering health services — they even opened up a mental health clinic in a Texas store location last year — but the new Walmart Health centers will provide more comprehensive healthcare options for a wide range of needs.

At the Walmart Health center in Georgia, children can get annual check-ups for $20. Lab tests start at $10 and adults can get teeth cleanings for $25. And that’s with or without insurance coverage.

The company will use the starting location to see how patients interact with the services offered. Then, the company plans to open a second location in Calhoun, Georgia, in early 2020, with more to follow.

“Helping families save money so they can live better is at the heart of Walmart’s business, and we have bold ambitions to partner with great providers and find solutions to deliver quality health services at low, transparent pricing to our customers in a way that is convenient for them, making ‘live better’ the norm,” Walmart’s news release said.

The Walmart Health center also offers community health resources, online education and in-center workshops on preventive health and wellness issues.

Walmart is the latest store to offer personal health services, but plenty of others have already been doing so. Kroger, for example, offers in-store care with The Little Clinic. CVS has its Minute Clinic with health specialists on hand to serve customers and some Walgreens have clinics, too.

By offering dental and eye health services, Walmart is creating big competition for the others. It seems pretty amazing to be able to knock out all of your healthcare appointments in the same place.

Will you check out a Walmart Health center when one opens near you?