UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, Minnetonka, Minnesota, the world's largest healthcare company by revenue, will begin opening Medicare service centers inside select Walgreens pharmacy locations starting in January 2020.
Fourteen service centers will open in Walgreens locations in Las Vegas, Cleveland, Phoenix, Denver and Memphis, the company announced in a Nov. 25 media release.
“We are expanding access to UnitedHealthcare Medicare resources to better serve our members, providing them with all the valuable benefits they have come to expect from their UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans plus delivering the customer service and information they desire locally within Walgreens,” Mike Anderson, CEO of the Medicare Part D business at UnitedHealthcare, said in the release.
At the new centers, customers will be able to meet with service advocates to discuss their UnitedHealthcare benefits and enroll in new plans. UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage members will also be able to schedule annual in-store wellness visits through UnitedHealthcare’s HouseCalls program.
“Walgreens' collaboration with UnitedHealthcare helps people navigate their healthcare options and provides convenient access to affordable care,” Rick Gates, senior vice president of pharmacy and healthcare at Walgreens, said in the release. “Through strategic partnerships like this, Walgreens store locations can offer comprehensive services tailored to the specific needs of the communities we serve that are conveniently accessible alongside our pharmacy services.”
In October, Walgreens announced that 100 Jenny Craig at Walgreens locations will begin opening at pharmacy locations in 20 states starting in 2020.
In June, Walgreens' competitor CVS announced plans to open 1,500 specialty wellness stores by the end of 2021 that will offer dietitian services, health screenings and yoga spaces.