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I have been thinking about this for awhile...
400 Health Clinics to Open in Wal-Mart Stores During Next Three Years
Up to 2,000 Could Open Over Next Five to Seven Years
This full article is here
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 24, 2007 – Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., (NYSE: WMT) intends to contract with local hospitals and other organizations to open as many as 400 in-store health clinics over the next two to three years, and if current market forces continue, up to 2,000 clinics could be in Wal-Mart stores over the next five to seven years, Wal-Mart president and CEO Lee Scott will say in a speech later today at the World Health Care Congress in Washington, D.C. The clinic program’s expansion is just the latest in a series of moves by Wal-Mart to help implement customer solutions to America’s health care crisis, including the $4 generic drug prescription program, health information technology and participation in a major coalition supporting comprehensive healthcare reform by 2012.
“We think the clinics will be a great opportunity for our business. But most importantly, they are going to provide something our customers and communities desperately need – affordable access at the local level to quality health care,” Scott says.
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Also found this
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Wal-Mart Clinics
In-store clinic at Walmart
In-store retail clinics
We’re making it easy for customers to take advantage of convenient and affordable basic health care services. We lease space in our stores to independent local hospitals or health systems that the community already knows and trusts. Customers can receive medical care with no appointment necessary - and routine "get well" and "preventative" visits typically cost $50 to $65.
* The cost of every service the clinics offer will be clearly posted, bringing much needed price transparency to the health care industry.
* Many visitors have said that if it were not for our clinics, they would have forgone medical care — or they would have visited an emergency room.
* By visiting one of our clinics, patients receive the care they need and at the same time reduce overcrowding in emergency rooms and eliminate the costs of unnecessary hospital visits.
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And you know what? This certainly seems like a great start in addressing our nation's healthcare concerns to me...
I mean it's handled by private industry rather than government. I guess it's a for profit operation sure but like what we currently have isn't...
THIS is exactly what many Americans are looking for... Many Americans simply want to have the ability to purchase some health care at a reasonable price when/if they so NEED to do it...
We can certainly hold Wal-Mart to it's boastful claim: Always the Lowest Prices, Always
But access to actual health care at affordable prices is what's needed.,.. that's the point...
Contrast that with what our kleptocratic greedy corrupt "leaders" in Washington seek to do... 'They' aren't looking out for Americans 'they' are looking out for insurance companies. Gee whiz... even Denis Kucinich agrees that what the government is doing is a windfall for the insurance industry... 'They' are not trying to find ways to make quality, affordable health care accessible to Americans. 'They' are trying to FORCE every American to purchase a private product from a private industry. Completely unconstitutional, IMO. Suddenly our government has become the world's most active health care insurance sales force.
What?!
On top of that the bills currently in congress do little to nothing to control ever rising health care costs. And, further, they do nothing to prevent health care premiums from rising immediately and forever!
Why can Washington NOT understand that Americans are not seeking the ability to buy health care INSURANCE... but affordable health care SERVICES?!
I truly believe that Wal-Mart can be a big part of the answer here...
Why don't we just have government 'loan' Wal-Mart the money to kick their health clinic expansion into high gear? With a little interest even?
This way the private sector can address the problem thereby keeping government from becoming ever more entwined in our personal lives...
I don't expect anything of the sort to happen because, in my opinion, this entire health care debate is NOT about providing quality, affordable health care to all Americans. It's about government controlling a large part of our economy and it's about bailing out struggling health care insurance companies, drug companies/big pharma, hospitals and doctors...
Just follow the money... Our health care 'bubble' is bursting...
What our government seeks to do is bail them all out WITHOUT having to actually 'call' it a bailout. Seems that is a bit of a dirty word these days...
Wal-Mart's vision centers offer their services for about a THIRD of the cost of your fancy brandy vision centers. In my opinion, if you can't stand the idea of waiting a whole week to get your new glasses then you're just weird... lol
Wal-Mart normally does offer good value to it's customers. There is no denying that, it's a fact.
Think about it, please...
Greg
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