In 2019, when I began covering home-based care, Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) was just barely scraping the surface in the space.
Paying $800 million for the senior-focused technology company GreatCall was nothing to scoff at, of course. But it wasn’t directly related. It certainly felt like much more was bubbling underneath the surface.
In the interim, other retailers have been full-speed ahead on the home-based care mission.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (Nasdaq: WBA) put $6.2 billion behind the home-focused primary care company VillageMD. It has also made other investments in home health care companies like BrightSpring Health Services and post-acute technology companies like CareCentrix.
CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) has experimented with at-home kidney care and even flirted with the idea of getting into traditional home health care.
Within a short span, Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) launched its own in-person and virtual care platform – Amazon Care – scaled it, and even pitched it to large insurers as the next big thing in home-focused care.
Walmart (NYSE: WMT) has continually acknowledged the importance of the home in its health care plans, and has adjusted its strategy to account for that.
Now, Best Buy has joined the race as well. And it’s positioning itself not as an adjacent player, but instead, squarely in the mix.
The question is now: Will the company be riding the wave to the home, or driving the tide?
I answer that and more in this week’s exclusive, members-only HHCN+ Update.
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The post Why Best Buy Is a Home-Based Care Player Worth Watching appeared first on Home Health Care News.
