WalMart can help by offering inexpensive pharmaceuticals. I don't know if they can help overcome a larger problem. The problem seems to be that health care providers do not compete on value delivered. Until we effectively measure value (long term benefit divided by cost) delivered and compare it across providers we will have no way to use the market to stimulate improvement.

Right now we don't measure long term benefits and decisions are insulated from costs.

(Yeah, I drink the Kool aid: http://www.amazon.com/Redefining-Health-Care-Value-Based-Com...)