Sam’s Club Now Offering Health Care Products
January 14th, 11Health care is coming from an unusual place: Sam’s Club. Starting this month Sam’s Club members can now pick up preventative health care along with their bulk boxes of diapers and gallon jugs of shampoo. “The Prevention Plan” is offered by US Preventive Medicine and costs $99, according to CNN Money. Right now Sam’s Club members can purchase the product through the website and by May the company says they’ll offer it in every store.
The company’s CEO is adamant about the fact that the product is not insurance, and it doesn’t include access to doctors, but Christopher Fey does say that it may help keep people out of the doctor’s office. “Think of it as what a financial planner does,” Fey told CNN Money. “He takes all the information you provide, assesses the risk and gives you a plan on how to improve your financial health. The prevention plan does a similar thing, but for your [personal] health.”
With their $99, buyers will get a year-long subscription to a web-based program that monitors at-home blood screening tests and also tracks cholesterol, blood sugar and hemoglobin levels. Customers will also have access to an around the clock nurse line, two health coaching sessions and a series of health-related recommendations based on the person’s age, gender and risks. “The aim of the prevention plan is to keep individuals healthy, identify illness early rather than wait for symptoms to develop and assist in chronic care management such as for diabetes or heart disease,” Fey told CNN Money. “We are boosting our staff in anticipation of the Sam’s Club offering.”
Some worry that people will see this $99 product as a replacement to insurance, but Kathleen Stoll, director of health policy with Families USA says that’s not a good idea. “This plan is not a replacement for health insurance,” Stoll told CNN Money. “Think of this way. If you were training for a marathon, you may buy a heart monitor and monitor yourself while you train. But you still need to see a professional to give you a full cardiovascular checkup. I worry about people thinking of this prevention plan as a substitute for an annual checkup at a doctor’s office.”
Tags: small business, sam s club, checkup, Club offering, health-related recommendations, Business
