BENTONVILLE, AR — Walmart made the decision to close all 51 health centers across five states and shut down their virtual care offering, noting that the challenging reimbursement environment and escalating operating costs create a lack of profitability that make the care business unsustainable for them at this time.

From Walmart's news release: "Our priority will be ensuring the people and communities who are impacted are treated with the utmost respect, compassion and support throughout the transition. We do not yet have a specific date for when each center will close but will share as soon as decisions are made. While we will no longer operate health centers, we will take what we learned as we provide trusted health and wellness services across the country through our nearly 4,600 Pharmacies and more than 3,000 Vision Centers. For 40 years, we have provided these high quality, accessible and affordable points of care that are integral to their respective communities."

Over the past few years, the importance of Pharmacies has continued to grow, and Walmart has expanded the clinical capabilities of the services they provide. They will continue to offer immunizations and have grown to provide testing and treatment services, access to specialty pharmacy medication and care, as well as other essential services such as medication therapy management and a variety of health screenings. With more than 4,000 stores in medical provider shortage areas, Walmart stated that their pharmacies are often the front door of healthcare.

Walmart states that they are focused on continuity of care for patients and providing impacted associates with respect and assistance as they begin the closing process of the health care centers. Read the full release here.