Vitamin retailer GNC enters health market with virtual urgent, primary care
For a monthly fee, GNC Health is offering members low-cost virtual health care for urgent conditions, primary care appointments, mental health, physical therapy, and $0 prescription medications.
A familiar name has joined the rapidly growing list of retailers attempting to disrupt the health-care industry. GNC, a longtime nutrition and wellness company, will begin offering membership plans that include virtual urgent and primary care.
This new service, called GNC Health, builds on the supplemental health-care service offered to GNC PRO Access members in July. GNC expanded its loyalty program to offer these members telehealth appointments, 40 generic versions of common urgent-care medications and more than 70 generic personal health medications. Now, PRO Access members will have the option to keep their current plan or upgrade.
“We envision GNC Health as a way to broaden our consumer reach and bring people meaningful health and wellness solutions, because everyone deserves the opportunity to live well,” said Allison Bentley, senior director of strategic programs. “With GNC Health, we’re supporting our consumers’ health and wellness journeys while keeping our core brand relevant and top of mind.”
Three plan levels are available:
- The Basic plan for individuals costs $34.99 a year and provides unlimited access to virtual urgent and lifestyle care and 100-plus prescription medications.
- The Plus plan, with a monthly cost of $9.99 for individuals and $29.99 for families, includes virtual urgent, primary care and lifestyle care services, and 400-plus prescription medications.
- The Premier plan includes virtual mental health and physical therapy care services in addition to all services included in the other plans. This plan costs $39.99 monthly for individuals and $59.99 monthly for families.
The GNC Health launch comes on the heels of multiple retailers unveiling virtual care services. Earlier this month, Costco and Walmart announced partnerships focused on virtual care. Costco is partnering with health-care marketplace platform Sesame to offer members virtual primary care. Walmart is expanding its no-copay virtual primary care service for employees and their families in partnership with Included Health. Technology companies such Amazon and retail pharmacy chains such as Walgreens also are becoming involved.
Related: Drugstore disruptors? Walmart, CVS want patients to skip trips to the doctor
Retailers have a competitive edge in the virtual-care space, Chris Lew, consulting engagement manager at Rock Health Advisory, told mHealthIntelligence.
“Retailers uniquely bring a physical scale and community presence that are hugely valuable for delivering an omnichannel experience,” he said. “The recent moves retailers have made to bolster their virtual capabilities enable consumers like this to get all their needs met under one ‘roof’ in a highly integrated way.”