Wal-Mart to let shoppers enroll in health plans in stores

The world's largest retailer is jumping into the health insurance game, unveiling a program that will help its customers find and compare health plans.

Wal-Mart Stores said Monday that it is teaming with online health insurance brokerage DirectHealth.com. Wal-Mart shoppers will be able to sign up in stores for health plans, such as those being sold on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's marketplaces and private Medicare plans.

The move will likely funnel more business to DirectHealth.com, but health policy experts say it could be a boon for Wal-Mart as well. Dr. Fred Hyde, a health policy professor at Columbia University in New York City, said the health insurance industry is difficult to navigate, especially because the ACA has expanded the number of options for many consumers. Shoppers who come into Wal-Mart for routine products may eventually view the retailer as a go-to resource for questions about complicated health plans.

“They are obviously reacting to a need,” Hyde said.

Labeed Diab, president of health and wellness for Wal-Mart U.S., said in a release that shoppers routinely say they have a difficult time understanding their health insurance options. The new enrollment program will address “that complexity by bringing clarity and increased choice to the insurance enrollment process,” Diab said.

For Wal-Mart, the move is not its first venture into healthcare or insurance. The company has built several primary-care clinics. Wal-Mart also created a program in 2012 where employees could go to Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic and a few other providers deemed to be high-quality for heart and spine surgeries and Wal-Mart would cover all out-of-pocket costs there.

In April, Wal-Mart partnered with AutoInsurance.com—which is operated by TZ Insurance Solutions, the same company that operates DirectHealth.com—to help shoppers access car insurance policies.

Wal-Mart is rolling out the health insurance enrollment program at 2,700 of its 4,900 U.S. stores. DirectHealth.com agents, who will receive commissions, will help customers from Oct. 10 through Dec. 7, in the thick of HealthCare.gov's second enrollment period and Medicare's annual open enrollment period.

Follow Bob Herman on Twitter: @MHbherman