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Employer Solutions
Walmart Employee

Walmart's Cardiac Centers of Excellence Program

To enroll, call the number on the back of your insurance card.

Expert heart care when it matters most.

Through Walmart's Centers of Excellence (COE) program, you have access to Cleveland Clinic, a globally recognized leader and one of the nation's top-ranked providers of cardiovascular care.

What Is the Centers of Excellence Program?

The COE program offers:

  • 100% coverage for eligible heart surgeries, including travel, lodging, and daily expense support for you and a caregiver.*
  • Trusted expertise to ensure you get the right diagnosis and treatment, avoiding unnecessary procedures.
  • Convenient access to a no-cost clinical review, provided by Cleveland Clinic specialists.

*Please note: Saver Plan participants must meet their in-network annual deductible before the program pays any benefits.

A clinical review at no extra cost

Walmart wants to help ensure that associates and covered adult dependents receive the right treatment at the right time. The cardiac clinical review allows Cleveland Clinic to review your medical records and determine if you need a surgical procedure.

The cardiac clinical review is highly recommended for select non-emergency heart valve surgeries. The cardiac clinical review is available at no cost for Walmart associates enrolled in a Walmart sponsored health plan. The cardiac clinical review is completed electronically, so there's no need to travel. To enroll or learn more, please call the number on the back of your insurance card.

Lars G. Svensson, MD, PhD

Why Choose Cleveland Clinic?

“You should absolutely come to the Cleveland Clinic because you’re most likely to survive, 3 times more likely to survive than average."

"You’re going to have the least number of complications. You could very well have a minimally invasive or robotic operation that will allow you to recover quicker and get back to driving two or three weeks after surgery instead of two months.”

Lars G. Svensson, MD, PhD
Chief of the Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic

How It Works

The Walmart Cardiac Centers of Excellence benefit is offered to Walmart full-time associates and covered adult dependents enrolled in a Walmart Associate Medical Plan.

Those needing non-emergent heart procedures, who meet the program’s clinical requirements, can receive care from the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio — with all medical and travel expenses paid for by Walmart.

The cardiac clinical review is highly recommended for non-emergency heart surgeries. The cardiac clinical review is completed electronically, so you don’t have to travel.

Steps involved

  1. Connect. Participant is diagnosed with a condition and calls their health care advisor at the number on the back of their ID card who confirms benefit eligibility.
  2. Review. Cleveland Clinic reviews the participant’s medical records remotely to ensure appropriate diagnosis and treatment plan.
  3. Schedule. Approved patient is scheduled for surgery. Travel arrangements are coordinated for the patient and a companion, all at no cost to you.
  4. Treat. Patient and companion travel to Cleveland for pre-treatment appointments, educational sessions and treatment. appointments, educational session and treatment.
  5. Coordinate. Cleveland Clinic follows up with the patient by phone and virtual visit at 7, 14 and 30 days post-discharge. Cleveland Clinic schedules a follow-up appointment for the patient with their home physician, per the discharge plan.
  6. Complete. Patient is ready to go back to work with an improved quality of life.

Meet One of Our Patient Navigators

Before your visit, a dedicated patient navigator will reach out to help coordinate your care. As your primary contact throughout your treatment journey, they will be available to support both you and your family. After you return home, your navigator will continue to follow your recovery, checking in regularly until the one-year anniversary of your surgery.

General FAQs

  • Treatment and medications while the patient is at Cleveland Clinic. Please note: non-medical convenience items are not covered.
  • Travel and lodging for patient and companion.

  • The participant is a Walmart associate or covered adult dependent enrolled in a Walmart Associate Medical plan.
  • The participant has seen a local physician for a heart-related condition and has been recommended for a covered program procedure.
  • The participant meets clinical requirements evaluated by Cleveland Clinic surgeons through a clinical review. Please note: Cleveland Clinic assists with obtaining medical records for the clinical review.
  • The participant’s local physician agrees to assume care for the participant upon returning home.

Walmart wants to help ensure that associates and covered adult dependents receive the right treatment at the right time. Through a cardiac clinical review, Cleveland Clinic specialists review your medical records to determine whether heart surgery is recommended or if other treatment options may be available.

This review is strongly recommended for select non-emergency heart procedures and is completed electronically, so there's no need to travel.

A Cleveland Clinic patient care coordinator will work with you and your local physician or cardiologist to obtain your medical records. After reviewing your information, our team will determine the most appropriate treatment options and contact you to discuss the results and next steps.

There is no cost for the cardiac clinical review for Walmart associates and covered adult dependents enrolled in a Walmart sponsored health plan.

Not at all. This benefit is a partnership between you, Cleveland Clinic and your local physician. We work closely with your physician before and after your procedure to help ensure seamless care. After surgery, you'll continue your recovery and follow-up care at home under your doctor's guidance. Because Cleveland Clinic is home to one of the nation's leading heart programs, your doctor will understand and support your decision to receive treatment here.

Before you return home, the Cleveland Clinic team will coordinate a follow-up appointment with your local physician to help ensure a smooth transition of care. Our team will remain available should questions arise after your surgery, and we'll check in with you at 7, 14 and 30 days post-surgery to see how your recovery is progressing.

Patient Testimonial

Watch Edna's inspiring story and learn how Walmart’s Cardiac Centers of Excellence program helped take care of her heart.