Why telehealth service Mistr is giving away free HIV tests at select Walmart stores

While retail and pharmacy chains like CVS and Walgreens have hosted free HIV testing days before, Schukraft told Modern Retail that there’s a need to offer such services 365 days a year. The company specifically picked Georgia for its Walmart pilot because of the state’s high transmission rates and its status as a priority jurisdiction for federal programming around ending the HIV epidemic.

But Schukraft, a longtime entrepreneur who also owns hotels and nightclubs like The Abbey in Los Angeles, said that Mistr faces the same challenges as other online businesses when it comes to maxing out reach on platforms like Meta. To reach a broader array of people, Mistr is getting into retail.

“We are a direct-to-consumer brand at the end of the day,” he said. “You’re not going to get everybody on Instagram or through online promotions or dating apps, and so retail was the next logical space for us to grow.”

The first locations for the pilot will be Atlanta, Stockbridge, Morrow, Decatur and Ellenwood. A representative from Walmart was not available to speak to Modern Retail about the launch. But it’s a noteworthy development that comes after the retailer in April announced the closure of all 51 of its health care clinics across five states. During the company’s earnings call on May 16, CEO Doug McMillon said the company couldn’t make the operation profitable due to reimbursement rates and the costs of providing service. “There were a number of aspects that were going well and we really want to be part of the solution to improving health care in this country,” he said, according to a transcript.

The Mistr-Walmart partnership shows how retail environments can play an increasingly important role in providing access to health care. Behemoths like Walmart haven’t given up on the concept of using their footprint as a health care asset. Indeed, Walmart remains a large player in the health care space, given that thousands of its stores also have a pharmacy. Last August, Walmart expanded its pharmacy services to offer testing for strep throat, the flu and Covid-19 and receive treatment for these issues on-site.

For the new pilot, Mistr will absorb the cost of the test kits and test processing, while Walmart provides visibility to the customer. After customers send in their tests to Mistr and receive results, they’ll be able to find out about PrEP or other available offerings. “Walmart sees the value in offering this service free of charge,” he said.

Anarghya Vardhana, general partner at consumer health investment firm Maveron, said at-home testing businesses are a key way to increase health care access in a way that resonates with consumers today. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, more people got comfortable obtaining free tests from pharmacies or getting them in the mail.

“It became a daily thing almost,” she said. “And it opened up the mindset of the consumer to in-home testing for other things. Would I want to wait six to eight weeks to get an appointment with my doctor, where it’s expensive and maybe my insurance won’t cover it? Or I could just buy a test online or even at Walmart.”

But Vardhana said it’s also critical for telemedicine operations to have clinicians available to speak to the patients and ensure they understand their results and any treatment plans. “Clinical guardrails are really important,” she said.

At Mistr, people who receive test results and are HIV-negative will be connected with a physician for a video call to access PrEP. Those that test positive will hear from a doctor and patient care coordinator with treatment options and have the option to access long-term care.

About 70% of Mistr’s customers have insurance, which typically covers preventative care like PrEP or HIV treatment medications. If there is a co-pay or if someone is uninsured, Mistr currently partners with around 65 organizations across the country to help defray the costs. Such organizations are a key part of the federal government’s plan to end the HIV epidemic, a roadmap that includes testing, prevention and treatment.

“They’re really good at serving the community, but maybe not as well-versed at direct-to-consumer marketing and online distribution, and that’s the experience we bring,” Schukraft said.

While the number of new HIV infections is down overall from where it was five years ago, the CDC still estimated about 31,800 new cases in 2022. The new national goal aims to shrink that number to 9,300 by next year and to 3,000 by 2030.

Schukraft sees expanding access to PreP via services like Mistr as a key strategy to achieving that goal. Should the Walmart pilot perform well, he hopes to secure funding to launch it in other locations. Beyond growing with Walmart, Mistr has six storefront-style locations that offer in-person services.

“We’re making great in-roads,” he said. “People ask me, ‘Are you happy [about Mistr’s growth]?’ I’m very happy, but until we get everybody on PreP — or, more importantly, eliminate HIV — that’s the end goal.”