Retail giant Walmart's healthcare arm, Walmart Health, announced it has signed coordinated care agreements with Florida health insurer Ambetter from Sunshine Health and Orlando Health, a Florida-based network of community and specialty hospitals.

Walmart Health centers offer labs, primary care, x-rays and EKG, dental, behavioral health and select specialty services seven days a week with telehealth options available.   

Through its agreement with Ambetter Health, Floridian members of the Ambetter Value Plan in Orange, Duval, Clay, Hillsborough, Osceola, Seminole and Pasco counties can obtain care coordination and referral management services through Walmart Health Centers as a preferred provider. 

Ambetter Health has long been available on the health insurance marketplace. It is a significant healthcare program provided by managed-care enterprise Centene Corporation. 

Walmart and health system Orlando Health will work closely to offer Orlando residents and their providers care coordination services, streamlining the patient experience regarding transitions of care and enhancing communication between Walmart Health centers and Orlando Health providers. 

The deal marks the first patient care coordination agreement with a healthcare system for Walmart. 

"By collaborating with Walmart Health and focusing on care coordination in the shared patient populations, we’ll be better positioned to more quickly identify patient needs and improve outcomes together in the Orlando area," Cary D’Ortona, senior vice president at Orlando Health and president of Orlando Health Medical Group, said in a statement. 

THE LARGER TREND

Walmart Health launched in 2019 and opened health center locations in states across the U.S. Walmart has 23 health centers across Florida and expects to have over 75 centers nationwide by the end of 2024. 

In 2021, Walmart announced its acquisition of telehealth company MeMD, which offers primary care, virtual urgent care and behavioral health services. The telehealth provider changed its name to Walmart Health Virtual Care in 2022 as part of its transition into Walmart Health. 

Last year, Walmart announced a 10-year partnership with UnitedHealthcare, which would see Optum, a UnitedHealth Group business, deliver 15 Walmart healthcare locations in Florida and Georgia analytics and decision support tools to improve value-based care for seniors and Medicare beneficiaries within Medicare Advantage plans.