July 17, 2018
Dive
Brief:
- Sean
Slovenski, former vice president of innovation at Humana, has been named
vice president of health and wellness at Walmart, according to a report from Bloomberg and
confirmed by Walmart to Healthcare Dive. The move comes as Walmart begins
to ramp up its focus on healthcare.
- Slovenski was
most recently president of Healthways' population health unit. Healthways
was acquired by Sharecare, a Walmart partner, in 2016.
- Reports that Walmart is in early talks to acquire Humana surfaced
in late March, though the talk has been tamped down to a conversation
about strengthening their ties. The two companies already partner on
Medicare Part D drug plans.
Dive
Insight:
Per
an internal memo cited in Bloomberg's report, Slovenski's hire is the result of
Walmart's decision to "put more focus on [its] Health & Wellness
business in the near term," with U.S. CEO Greg Foran calling the move
"of strategic importance."
Walmart
is likely feeling the heat as Amazon rushes full-steam ahead into healthcare,
potentially gobbling up Walmart's potential market share.
Amazon
is reportedly in talks with
digital prescription platform Xealth to launch a pilot that would have doctors
prescribe products to patients before they're discharged. The online retailer
also last month acquired online pharmacy PillPack, which delivers
individualized rolls of pre-sorted medicines to people who manage multiple
daily medications.
Walmart's
partnership with Humana provides prescription drug plans for Medicare enrollees
and allows for, in some cases, steep discounts on prescriptions. However,
customers must pick up their drugs at a Walmart or a Sam's Club
brick-and-mortar location.
Walmart
did score a recent win in health IT, scooping up a patent for a
system that would store a person’s medical information in a blockchain database
and allow first responders to retrieve it in the event of an emergency. The
patent puts Walmart in contention with companies like Apple, Microsoft and
Google parent Alphabet, all of which have taken a swing at developing medical
record tools.
Earlier
this year, Walmart partnered with Emory Healthcare to develop an accountable
care plan to serve as the primary health coverage for Walmart associates at 55
locations in the Atlanta area. The partnership follows a trend of large
employers cutting out insurers and working directly with providers to develop
health plans for their employees, and is the focus of the anticipated joint
venture between Amazon, J.P. Morgan and Berkshire Hathaway.
No comments:
Post a Comment