Walmart Offers First-of-Its-Kind Pet Prescription Program
As more people continue to become pet owners during the pandemic, Walmart is ensuring its customers that it has all of their pet needs covered in one place by partnering with pet insurer Nationwide.
Nationwide Pet Rx Express will offer Nationwide pet insurance members savings on prescription pet medications purchased at Walmart’s 4,700 pharmacies, and introduces a new, expedited, in-store claims experience.
“Affordable health-and-wellness offerings for families is important for the whole family, including family pets,” said Luke Kleyn, VP, health and wellness at Walmart. “We are proud to partner with Nationwide to further support our commitment of helping people save money and live better, and healthier, in a way that is convenient and accessible.”
Interested pet owners will need to log into my.petinsurance.com to sign up for the program. After signing up, the member then brings their pet’s prescription to any in-store Walmart pharmacy. At checkout, the member presents their digital pet insurance ID card and pays for the prescription. The members’ claim is automatically submitted by the pharmacy, and the reimbursement process (based on the member’s plan) is started by Nationwide. With this in-store program, Nationwide pet insurance members will no longer have to submit a separate claim for covered pet prescriptions.
Preferred pricing and the opportunity to have claims for covered drugs processed at the counter of a major retail pharmacy is a first for the pet health insurance industry.
“Families deserve the same convenience when tending to their pets’ health as they do their own,” said Heidi Sirota, chief pet officer of Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide, which, over the past 90 years, has grown from a small mutual auto insurer owned by policyholders to one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in the world. “Offering on-the-spot claims filing and preferred pricing at a major retail location helps our members save time and money. We’re working to make it possible for every American to bring a pet into their family, and this first-of-its-kind partnership with the country’s leading pet retailer brings us closer to that goal.”
Through this partnership, Nationwide pet insurance members will also have access to Walmart’s most commonly prescribed pet-specific medications for chronic disease and flea, tick and heartworm prevention.
“Whether our customers are buying prescription pet medicine or an insurance policy, we want to provide an effortless experience and unmatched value,” said Nationwide Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer Mike Mahaffey. “Partnering with Walmart to both lower costs and streamline the claims process at the pharmacy counter is a terrific example of innovating to meet our members’ needs, and we’re excited about providing them this convenient new option when managing their pets’ care.”
The Stamford. Connecticut-based American Pet Products Association projects Americans will spend a record-high $99 billion this year on all things pet.
Walmart’s partnership with Nationwide comes on the heels of the retailer’s launch of its Walmart Pet Care in November. The full-service omnichannel initiative provides such programs as Walmart Pet Insurance and dog-walking and pet sitting services. In collaboration with Philadelphia-based Petplan, an injury and illness pet insurance provider for cats and dogs, Walmart enables customers to save as much as 10% on their policies. The pet-sitting and dog-walking services are available through Olympia, Washington-based Rover, a website and app offering access to reliable neighborhood care.
Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart operates more than 11,300 stores under 58 banners in 27 countries, and e-commerce websites, employing 2.2 million-plus associates worldwide. Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s list of