The closure of Walmart’s health centers could leave behind a gap in care for dental patients, according to Bryan Carey, CEO of Atlanta-based DSO Benevis.
Walmart announced April 30 that it would close all 51 of its Walmart Health centers across five states, signaling the end of its dental care offerings. The company cited “the challenging reimbursement environment and escalating operating costs” which created a lack of profitability and created an unsustainable business model.
Several healthcare leaders told Becker’s they were not surprised by the closures due to the economic challenges facing the healthcare industry, such as low reimbursements and inflation, as well as the difficulty of providing primary care at scale.
Several dental industry leaders have shared similar sentiments regarding the economic challenges facing the dental industry. Janet Hagerman, a dental industry consultant, said she was not surprised by the news because of the company’s pricing model.
“What this leaves is a lot of folks in need of good, fairly priced dental care,” Hagerman said on LinkedIn. “While discount dentistry is never a good idea, this does present an opportunity for dental professionals to help patients understand the value of dentistry so we can care for their needs.”
Mr. Carey recently spoke with Becker’s about what these closures mean for the healthcare industry and dental care accessibility.
Source: How Walmart Health’s closure could affect dental patients / Becker’s Dental + DSO Review