In an effort to rein in healthcare costs for its employees, Walmart sends them directly to health systems that demonstrate high-quality care outcomes, otherwise known as Centers of Excellence.
Through the COE program, Walmart will cover the travel and treatment costs for employees seeking a range of services, but only with providers the company is contracted with. Walmart then reimburses with bundled payments negotiated with the providers.
To determine which providers get access to its 1.6 million employees, Walmart starts by examining health systems. Lisa Woods, vice president of physical and emotional well-being at Walmart, and her team analyze public data, distribute requests for information and conduct detailed on-site visits.
Below are the 18 health systems or campuses to which Walmart will refer patients for defined episodes of care in 2022. (See how COE participants have evolved since 2019 or 2021.)
Cardiac
Cleveland Clinic
Geisinger Medical Center (Danville, Pa.)
Virginia Mason Medical Center (Seattle)
Weight loss surgery
Emory University Hospital (Atlanta)
Geisinger Medical Center (Danville, Pa.)
Intermountain Healthcare (Salt Lake City)
Northeast Baptist Hospital (San Antonio)
Northwest Medical Center (Springdale, Ark.)
Ochsner Medical Center (New Orleans)
Scripps Mercy Hospital (San Diego)
University Hospital (Cleveland)
Spine surgery
Emory University Hospital (Atlanta)
Geisinger Medical Center (Danville, Pa.)
Carolina NeuroSurgery & Spine Associates (Charlotte, N.C.)
Mercy Hospital Springfield (Mo.)
Mayo Clinic Arizona (Phoenix)
Mayo Clinic Florida (Jacksonville)
Mayo Clinic Minnesota (Rochester)
Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center (Houston)
Ochsner Medical Center (New Orleans)
Virginia Mason Medical Center (Seattle)
Breast, lung, colorectal, prostate
or blood cancer
Mayo Clinic Arizona (Phoenix)
Mayo Clinic Florida (Jacksonville)
Mayo Clinic Minnesota (Rochester)
Hip and knee replacements
Emory University Hospital (Atlanta)
Geisinger Medical Center (Danville, Pa.)
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center (Baltimore)
Kaiser Permanente Irvine (Calif.) Medical Center
Mayo Clinic Florida (Jacksonville)
Mayo Clinic Minnesota (Rochester)
Mercy Hospital Springfield (Mo.)
Northeast Baptist Hospital (San Antonio)
Ochsner Medical Center (New Orleans)
Scripps Mercy Hospital (San Diego)
University Hospital (Cleveland)
Virginia Mason Medical Center (Seattle)
Organ and tissue transplants
(except cornea and intestinal)
Mayo Clinic Arizona (Phoenix)
Mayo Clinic Florida (Jacksonville)
Mayo Clinic Minnesota (Rochester)