Hy-Vee Offers New Way of Delivering Health Care to Patients, Employers

Midwest food retailer Hy-Vee, Inc. has become a joint owner of Exemplar Care as it works to bring more affordable primary care and urgent care services to Iowa patients and employers. 

Under the agreement, Exemplar Care medical clinics will be renamed to Hy-Vee Health Exemplar Care, offering direct primary care and 24/7 urgent care (where available). Locations are currently open in West Des Moines, Ankeny and soon Bondurant, Iowa. These clinics will be managed by Hy-Vee’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Daniel Fick and Exemplar Care’s leadership team, including founder Dr. Jon Van Der Veer.

Through Hy-Vee Health Exemplar Care, employer groups can provide their employees access to unlimited primary and urgent care through memberships for a fixed monthly fee or layer the membership with a major medical health plan. Health care memberships are also available to individuals and families outside of an employer-funded plan.

“We are proud to partner with Exemplar Care to provide a new way of delivering health care to patients and employer groups,” said Aaron Wiese, president of Hy-Vee. “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 has operated in the health care industry for more than 50 years and continues to expand its operations. The retailer currently operates more than 275 retail pharmacies across eight Midwestern states, as well as Amber Specialty Pharmacy, a national specialty pharmacy provider. In 2020, Hy-Vee formed its own pharmacy benefit manager Vivid Clear Rx to combat rising drug prices by bringing more transparency to the industry. 

Hy-Vee has also entered the medical space in recent years, launching a low-cost telehealth and online pharmacy provider called RedBox Rx that specializes in mental health, men’s health, women’s health and more. Last year, Hy-Vee opened Hy-Vee Health Infusion Care medical practices in West Des Moines, Iowa, and Chicago to provide affordable infusion therapy to patients with chronic conditions.

The retailer is investing heavily in the wellness industry. Most recently, Hy-Vee and health technology company Soda Health rolled out a new Smart Benefits program that enables recipients to receive personalized health-and-wellness benefits at all Hy-Vee locations in the retailer’s eight-state market area. Under the program, recipients receive customized benefits on fresh produce, over-the-counter pharmacy items, clinical services, nutritional counseling, and more. 

For its younger consumers, Hy-Vee operates a free educational program for children called Hy-Vee KidsFit that promotes physical activity and healthy lifestyle habits.

Employee-owned Hy-Vee operates more than 550 business units across eight Midwestern states with sales of more than $13 billion annually. The West Des Moines, Iowa-based company has a team of more than 75,000 employees and is No. 36 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named Hy-Vee a 2023 Top Regional.