Dive Brief:

• Hy-Vee is expanding its clinic services by becoming a joint owner of private healthcare organization Exemplar Care to offer more affordable primary and urgent care, according to a Tuesday announcement. 
• Exemplar Care’s clinics in Iowa, which will be renamed to Hy-Vee Health Exemplar Care, will offer care to patients as well as employer groups of all sizes through a membership program. Currently, two clinics are open in West Des Moines and Ankeny and a third will open “soon” in Bondurant, according to the press release.
• This is the regional grocer’s latest effort to expand its health and wellness services.

Dive Insight:

Hy-Vee’s newest clinics will offer direct primary care and 24/7 urgent care for patients and employers, according to the announcement.

Employer groups will be able to provide their staff with unlimited primary and urgent care through memberships for a fixed monthly fee or layered with a major medical health plan. The memberships are also available to individuals and families outside of an employer-funded plan, the press release noted. 

“By combining Exemplar Care’s expertise with Hy-Vee’s extensive background in pharmacy and infusion care, we will not only be able to reduce the cost of health care for patients and employers, but more importantly, improve the health of our patients through personalized patient care, increased access to care and transparent pricing,” Hy-Vee President Aaron Wiese said in a statement. 

The clinics will be managed by Dr. Daniel Fick, the grocer’s chief medical officer, as well as Exemplar Care’s leadership team, including founder Dr. Jon Van Der Veer.

Hy-Vee currently has an extensive healthcare arm with more than 275 retail pharmacies across eight Midwestern states, including Amber Specialty Pharmacy, which specializes in personalized care for patients with complex conditions. The regional grocer also operates RedBox Rx, a telehealth and online pharmacy that specializes in mental health, men's and women’s health and more, per the announcement. 

In April, Hy-Vee opened its first infusion clinic, noting plans to open more. That inaugural location, which is in West Des Moines, offers treatments for rheumatology, gastroenterology, pulmonary, neurology, dermatology and oncology patients as well as for people with other chronic conditions.

A few weeks later, Hy-Vee announced the launch of a $99-per-month health and wellness subscription program called Healthy You that gives members access to personalized nutrition counseling, preventative health screenings, fitness videos, virtual classes about preparing freezer meals and more.