Walmart now lets you shop more than 900 healthcare products and services before booking care.[1] On October 26, 2026, it expanded Better Care Services using General Medicine's technology. You can compare an estimate based on your insurance with available cash prices before choosing a provider.[2]
What Better Care Services Does
Better Care Services helps Walmart customers find and book care from third-party healthcare providers. Walmart launched it on January 8, 2026, with virtual urgent care, behavioral health services and access to LillyDirect.[3]
The expanded version adds a shared catalog across General Medicine and more than 10 existing providers. It covers urgent care, pediatric care, mental health, nutrition and weight management.[2] Fierce Healthcare also reports lab testing, virtual primary care and in-person urgent care through Solv.[1]
Walmart provides the shopping experience. The selected provider delivers your care. General Medicine supplies the technology connecting services, insurance information and estimated prices. It also offers its own care alongside other providers. Walmart decides which providers participate.[1][2]
That division matters when you choose an appointment. Look at the provider's name and service terms, along with the price. Those tell you who will treat you and what the purchase includes.
Who Built General Medicine
General Medicine sells medical services online and helps patients arrange the care they choose. TJ Parker, Elliot Cohen and Ashwin Muralidharan founded it in fall 2023, and it launched nationwide in May 2025. Parker is chief executive, Cohen is president and Muralidharan, its founding chief executive, is now chief product officer.[4]
Parker and Cohen previously founded PillPack, which Amazon acquired in 2018. Parker trained as a pharmacist and Cohen as an engineer. Their pharmacy coordinated medication packaging, refills and deliveries.[5] General Medicine extends that work of arranging care across visits, tests and prescriptions. It announced a $120 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz on October 6, bringing total funding to $152 million.[4] Our earlier General Medicine article explains its standalone store.
How You Compare and Book Care
You can reach Better Care Services through Walmart.com, the Walmart app or Sparky, Walmart's artificial intelligence shopping assistant.[1] Walmart describes a process built around comparing services before taking the next step:[2]
Find the care you need. Browse services and participating providers.
Compare available options. Check location, appointment availability and the provider delivering the service.
Review potential costs. See an estimate using your insurance information and a cash price where offered.
Book or buy. Follow the booking or fulfillment option for that service.[2]
An estimated insured cost describes what you may owe using your coverage. A cash offer prices the service outside that billing route. Compare both when available, then check what each amount includes.
General Medicine manages customer accounts and health information separately from Walmart's retail business.[2]
How This Connects to Walmart's Pharmacy
Walmart already connects virtual consultations with prescription pickup and delivery through Better Care Services.[3] The expanded catalog gives customers more care options within that process.
One existing provider shows what that can look like. In its May 28, 2026 announcement, Teladoc advertised $89 cash-pay visits through Better Care Services, including virtual urgent care, dermatology and nutrition. It described urgent-care treatment for conditions such as sinus infections and pink eye, and photograph-based dermatology reviews.[6]
Teladoc says a clinician can send a prescription, when appropriate, to a pharmacy including Walmart. Same-day delivery is available in many locations.[6] The $89 figure comes from that May announcement; confirm the current service price before booking.
For Walmart, the pharmacy network makes the connection practical. Executive Leslie Fletcher pointed to pharmacists across roughly 4,600 stores when explaining the expanded service.[1] For you, the potential convenience is completing several arrangements through businesses you already use: finding care, getting evaluated and filling a resulting prescription.
What to Check Before Paying
Compare the full service, including what happens afterward. A displayed visit price gives you a starting point. Before booking, ask:
Does the amount cover the consultation alone, or any tests and medication?
Who reviews results and answers follow-up questions?
Would another visit create another charge?
Can you return to the same clinician if the problem continues?
These questions matter whether you choose an insurance estimate or a cash offer. They also help you decide when booking individual services meets your needs and when to investigate ongoing primary care.
What Upfront Prices Mean for Membership Care
Walmart's approach could make patients more comfortable asking what care costs before agreeing to it. That expectation could also help people evaluate direct primary care (DPC), where a recurring fee covers a defined set of primary care services. The American Academy of Family Physicians describes DPC as a contract between the patient and the practice.[7]
A visit price and a membership fee describe different purchases. Compare them by asking what care and access each includes:[2][7]
What to compare | Individual service | DPC membership |
|---|---|---|
What the payment buys | The selected consultation, test or other service | The primary care services specified in the agreement |
How to evaluate follow-up | Ask which follow-up the purchase includes | Ask which visits and messages the membership includes |
What to budget separately | Charges outside the selected service | Care outside the membership's scope |
For a concrete example, BluegrassMD in Lexington, Kentucky publishes a $200 monthly membership for adults ages 25 to 64 and a separate $200 non-member virtual visit. Its non-member visit excludes follow-up, procedures, tests and referrals.[8]
Those identical headline prices buy different arrangements. A useful comparison requires the membership agreement and the visit terms. Our DPC versus traditional primary care cost guide explains how to compare annual spending.
Walmart's announcement does not describe a membership-comparison category.[2] If you need one appointment, evaluate the service and total expected charge. If you need primary care throughout the year, also evaluate a local doctor's membership, included follow-up and availability. Compare the cost of meeting your expected needs across the year, alongside the access each option offers.
FAQ
Who provides care through Better Care Services?
The participating healthcare provider delivers care. General Medicine supplies Walmart's catalog technology and also offers some services itself.[1][2]
Can I use insurance?
The expanded service shows estimated costs based on individual insurance information, with cash prices where offered. Available payment options depend on the provider and service.[2]
Does a DPC membership replace health insurance?
A DPC agreement covers a defined set of primary care services. The academy notes that most patients still carry insurance for services outside the practice, including hospital and specialist care.[7]
You can compare concierge and DPC practices on NextMD, review physician credentials and ask each office for its membership fees, included services and appointment availability.
Sources
Landi, H. (2026, October 26). Walmart taps startup General Medicine to expand Better Care Services. Fierce Healthcare. Read the reporting on Walmart's catalog and pharmacy connection.
Walmart. (2026, October 26). Walmart Expands Better Care Services, Powered by General Medicine's Healthcare Store. Read Walmart's expansion announcement.
Walmart. (2026, January 8). New Year, New You: Walmart Launches Better Care Services and Rolls Back Prices on 1,000+ Wellness Essentials. Read the original Better Care Services announcement.
General Medicine. (2026, October 6). General Medicine Raises $120 Million to Build the Healthcare Store. PR Newswire. Read the founders, leadership and funding announcement.
PillPack. (Undated, accessed October 26, 2026). Press: Our Story, Facts and Figures, and Founding Team Bios. Read PillPack's company history and founder biographies.
Teladoc Health. (2026, May 28). Teladoc Health Expands Access to Care Through Walmart's Better Care Services. Read Teladoc's services, advertised price and prescription options.
American Academy of Family Physicians. (2024). Direct Primary Care. Read the academy's policy on DPC agreements and insurance.
BluegrassMD. (Undated, accessed October 26, 2026). Services & Pricing. Read membership pricing and non-member visit exclusions.