Walmart has more power to fix US health-care system than Walmart

Walmart employees and customers come from all demographic groups, including the lower-income population that accounts for the vast majority of the nation’s health costs.

This gives Walmart the potential to make a real difference.

“Walmart has access to the food consumption, medical data and shopping cart of Americans from all social classes, and not just the 1 percent,” said Julie Papanek, a health-focused investor at Canaan Partners.

To cater to these groups, Walmart has been ramping up its health offerings, from pharmacy to care delivery, all with a focus on affordability.

The company offers a list of prescription drugs that it sells for $4, no insurance required. That service alone, the company claims, has saved its customers more than $3 billion since it was launched more than a decade ago.

It has attempted to build on that over the years by offering access to medical care — with mixed success. Last summer, it started offering lab testing services in some Florida and Texas locations. And it rolled out primary-care clinics that operate inside Walmart stores.

For its employees with complex needs like high-risk surgeries, the company has been adding facilities like Mayo Clinic to its network in a “Centers of Excellence” program.

One discrepancy, as Oxeon’s Price points out, is that Walmart’s business relies on selling everything consumers want — including unhealthy items like processed food and cigarettes. That could clash with a bigger move into health services. In contrast, CVS Health stopped selling cigarettes as part of its own transformation into health-care-centered company. Last year, CVS announced plans to acquire Aetna for $69 billion.

Still, as Walmart further invests in its grocery business, there is opportunity to tie in its increasing focus on both industries.

Health experts agree that Walmart is the one to watch.

“Outside of specialty drugs, Walmart is quietly the most affordable pharmacy in the country,” said Thomas Cassels, a health researcher and consultant.

“And by contracting directly with providers across the country they are closing in on offering the most affordable medical services and episodes as well.”

Your move, Amazon.