The U.S. post-acute care market represents approximately $75 billion in healthcare spending annually.
By Heather Landi
Senior Editor
Fierce Healthcare
Walgreens is boosting its stake in primary care company VillageMD as it looks to open hundreds of new clinics across the U.S.
The drugstore chain is investing $5.2 billion in VillageMD, making it the majority owner with a 63% stake, up from 30% previously.
Walgreens Boots Alliance and VillageMD have 52 co-located primary care practice locations currently open and will have more than 80 open by the end of this calendar year. Walgreens plans to open at least 600 co-located Village Medical at Walgreens primary care practices in more than 30 U.S. markets by 2025 and 1,000 by 2027, the company announced Thursday.
VillageMD remains a standalone company, with its own board and management, and the company plans to conduct an IPO in 2022.
More than half of those practices will be located in medically underserved communities as part of the organizations’ focus to increase access to primary care for patients in underserved urban and rural communities. More than 75% of Americans live within five miles of a Walgreens, according to the company.
The investment is part of the healthcare giant’s strategic move to expand further into value-based primary care, a $1 trillion, fast-growing segment of the healthcare system.
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