Wal-Mart's health care question

Folks at Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) can't seem to make up their minds about health care.

Just last week, there was talk the company might offer health insurance coverage to small businesses, a group that has trouble buying coverage at reasonable rates.

Sounds like the company might be thinking about organizing a health-care exchange targeting small businesses.

Maybe not. A company spokeswoman told Bloomberg BusinessWeek the company was evaluating the idea. But, she added, "Wal-Mart does not currently have plans for a private health insurance exchange."

Okay.

Next, the Orlando Business Journal's Abraham Aboraya, who started all this speculation, quoted a Wal-Mart executive as saying it will open primary care clinics in five to seven years. But, no, maybe not. Later, the company told Aboraya that there was no big plan for primary care.

So it's all very confusing. The larger trend is, however, that small-business health insurance exchanges are starting to get organized. It may be that a Wal-Mart or a Costco Wholesale (COST) may be involved, as opposed to exchanges set up by states, because they have the expertise on negotiating plans covering many thousands of people, particularly Costco.

At the same time, big retail chains, like Wal-Mart, Costco and Target (TGT) which already have large pharmacy operations and offer flu shots and the like, are looking to make their stores one-stop destinations for everything, including outpatient clinics.

They're following the lead of CVS Caremark's (CVS) MinuteClinics and Walgreen's (WAG) Take Care clinics, which have started some 800 locations.

The goal of the clinics is not just to provide service. Clinics bring customers into stores and may generate other sales in addition to an immunization or, say, a flu shot, says Patricia Edwards, chief investment officer of Trutina Financial in Bellevue, Wa. Plus they offer the customer quick service and reasonable cost, especially to those without health insurance.

The rest is here:
Wal-Mart's health care question