The news: Walmart launched a digital health network that connects patients to telehealth services as well as reduced-price health and wellness products.
Walmart’s “Better Care Services” gives customers access to a curated network of third-party urgent care and behavioral health clinicians, including Doctor on Demand, BetterHelp, and Wheel. While appointments are booked directly through the telehealth platforms, Walmart is offering customers a limited-time $15 discount with select providers.
It’s also slashing prices on over 1,000 wellness items spanning food, over-the-counter health products, and supplements, as well as debuting an AI-powered nutrition hub that delivers personalized food and recipe recommendations.
Why it matters: Walmart is taking different approaches to stay in healthcare—potentially driving business to its pharmacy without the heavy overhead of operating primary care clinics. For context, Walmart shut down all 51 of its health clinics as well as its virtual care services in 2024, citing a challenging reimbursement environment and high operating costs. The clinic business took a loss of about $230 million, per Endpoints.
Walmart still has the fifth-largest pharmacy business in the US as measured by prescription drug sales, per March 2025 data from Drug Channels Institute. The retail giant has made recent moves to enhance its pharmacy unit's appeal by focusing on convenience, delivery services, and favorable pricing of in-demand medications like GLP-1s. Walmart likely hopes that customers accessing care through Better Care Services will use the company’s pharmacy for their prescribed drugs.
Implications for D2C healthcare companies and retailers: Walmart’s latest healthcare push is low-stakes, serving as an online marketplace linking customers to a range of health and wellness products and services. It’s unlikely to take much share from D2C healthcare players like Hims & Hers and GoodRx, but could funnel traffic to Walmart’s pharmacy and stores. The move also underscores retailers’ growing recognition that shoppers increasingly value affordable health and wellness products, which could prompt competitors to launch similar offerings.
This content is part of EMARKETER’s subscription Briefings, where we pair daily updates with data and analysis from forecasts and research reports. Our Briefings prepare you to start your day informed, to provide critical insights in an important meeting, and to understand the context of what’s happening in your industry. Not a subscriber? Click here to get a demo of our full platform and coverage.