Dive Brief:
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Health care systems are increasingly inking partnerships with retailers like drugstores and grocery stores in an effort to capitalize on increased health care coverage from the Affordable Care Act.
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CVS/Caremark last week added affiliations with Memorial Health in Georgia and the Lahey Health in Massachusetts, making for 36 such partnerships nationwide.
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Walgreens similarly now has 20 affiliations with health systems, including with Ochsner Health System in New Orleans and Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.
Dive Insight:
As discussions among lawmakers on significantly changing or gutting the Affordable Care Act seem to be ebbing, there is a wave of activity between hospitals and retailers to meet the needs of better insured Americans. Look for drugstores, grocery stores, and general retailers like Wal-Mar Stores to increasingly offer high-level expertise to consumers who require convenient access to primary care and treatment for many health conditions.