CareSource, Walmart Deepen Relationship with Medicaid Care Management Deal

CareSource and Walmart Inc. have struck a new deal that will see Walmart aim to improve care for pregnant Medicaid enrollees and CareSource members who require treatment for cardiometabolic conditions in Ohio, building on a partnership announced earlier this year to deliver pregnancy care to CareSource members in Georgia. The deal could be a model for similar partnerships between Medicaid managed care organizations and retailers, experts say, and demonstrates Walmart’s interest in achieving national health care scale. 

CareSource, a nonprofit insurer covering 2.3 million lives (2 million of which are in Medicaid plans) in five states, will partner with Walmart to “address racial health inequities” by connecting eligible CareSource members with Walmart’s “in-store community health workers.” Eligible members “will receive monthly funds to spend on food, a Walmart+ membership for no cost, and access to tele-nutrition services to aid in improving their health outcomes,” according to a press release. The move comes just weeks after Walmart and CareSource agreed to a similar arrangement focused strictly on prenatal, early maternal and children’s health care in Georgia, a partnership that also includes Johnson & Johnson. Neither CareSource nor Walmart responded to requests for comment by press time.