BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart is expanding its Better Care Services platform through a partnership with General Medicine, bringing third-party healthcare services into a single catalog where customers can compare providers, review potential costs and access booking options.
The expansion builds on the platform’s launch earlier this year and extends Walmart’s healthcare marketplace with technology meant to make shopping for care more straightforward. Available services include urgent care, pediatric care, mental health care, nutrition services, and weight-management support.
The expanded marketplace brings together services from General Medicine and more than 10 existing third-party providers, with Walmart planning to add more providers over time.
Customers can explore services and compare options by location, cost, availability, and personal preferences. Before deciding how to proceed, they can review estimated out-of-pocket costs based on their individual insurance information, as well as cash prices when available. Booking and other fulfillment options vary by service.
“At Walmart, we’re always looking for ways to make the customer experience simpler and more useful,” said Ralph Clare, executive vice president of health and wellness at Walmart U.S. “Expanding Better Care Services brings more care options into one place, helping customers explore what’s available, compare choices and take the next step in a way that works for them.”
The initiative brings familiar retail shopping tools to a healthcare market where consumers can find it difficult to compare services, evaluate providers, and understand their financial responsibility. By bringing options together and showing potential costs, the companies aim to help customers make more informed decisions about their care.
Walmart provides the customer-facing experience, while General Medicine supplies the technology connecting care options, insurance coverage information, and potential costs. According to the announcement, General Medicine also manages customer accounts and information separately from Walmart’s retail business. The platform and the providers delivering care retain health information.
“Healthcare needs a store,” said TJ Parker, chief executive officer of General Medicine. “We’re building the care catalog that makes options easier to understand, compare, and buy. Walmart is an important partner in bringing that vision into action, showing how a more shoppable healthcare experience can meet customers where they already turn for everyday needs.”
For Walmart, the expansion adds another way to connect customers with health care services alongside its pharmacies, vision centers and assortment of health and wellness products. The retailer said the platform is intended to support a range of needs, from unexpected illnesses and chronic conditions to everyday well-being.
Walmart positioned the expansion as part of its broader affordability efforts, which include its $4 generic prescription program and access to virtual care. The new catalog emphasizes clearer information related to potential costs, although the insurance-based amounts displayed are just estimates.
The expanded experience is available through Walmart’s Better Care Services website.
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