Walgreens looks to corner Michigan primary care market, hires new CMO

Walgreens looks to corner Michigan primary care market, hires new CMO
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Pharmacy giant Walgreens is looking to take a larger share of the primary care market in Michigan.

Chicago-based VillageMD, which is majority owned by Walgreens’ parent company, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., and largely operates primary care physicians’ offices attached to Walgreens pharmacies, this week named William “Rusty” Chavey II as its chief medical officer for the Michigan market.

Chavey is a longtime family medicine instructor at the University of Michigan Medical School and is the founder of Emmaus Health, a Catholic-based primary care practice with two offices in Ann Arbor.

VillageMD, which opened its first two practices in Michigan under the brand Village Medical in Westland earlier this year, plans to open 15 practices across the state in the coming years.

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“At Village, we’re continuing to grow, adding talented, high-caliber leaders to our team which is why I am excited to welcome Dr. Chavey. He’s highly regarded in Michigan with patients and peers alike,” David Hatfield, chief physician executive of Village Medical, said in a news release. “We will continue to drive our mission forward, delivering the personal, coordinated, and accessible care our patients deserve. I look forward to seeing the positive impact Dr. Chavey will have on our physicians and the Michigan community.”

VillageMD operates more than 1,000 clinics nationwide and 51 under the brand Village Medical alongside Walgreens stores.

Walgreens and CVS have been in a race to grow their respective primary care operations for the past few years in a bid to trap more of the market outside of pharmacy offerings.

In May, CVS completed a $10.6 billion acquisition of Chicago-based Oak Street Health, which operates more than 170 primary care offices in 21 states.

The companies are largely targeting the same market: seniors on Medicare or Medicare Advantage insurance plans, a large and growing segment. Oak Street, which serves just 160,000 patients, caters exclusively to that group. VillageMD and Walgreens’ Summit Health serve “millions” of patients at 680 locations in 26 markets, and take insurance from patients across the age and payer spectrum, but Walgreens’ growth plans are focused on areas with growing Medicare populations.

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