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Wal-Mart Stores To Offer $4 Generic Prescriptions At Florida Pharmacies
The program includes some popular generic drugs, such as the antibiotic amoxicillin and the heart and blood-pressure treatment lisinopril, sold under the brand names of Prinivil and Zestril, respectively, the Washington Post reports.
Wal-Mart Stores on Thursday announced a pilot program in Florida to sell 30-day prescriptions of some generic medications for $4, a move that could "prompt a price war with other pharmacies," USA Today reports. The program will cover about 150 products, including treatments for high blood pressure, infection and diabetes (Appleby, USA Today, 9/22).
The new prices will be tested initially at 65 Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and Neighborhood Market pharmacies in the Tampa, Fla., area and are expected to take effect statewide in early 2007. Depending on the response, the company plans to expand the program to most states (Albright/Hundley, St. Petersburg Times, 9/22). The program includes some popular generic drugs, such as the antibiotic amoxicillin and the heart and blood-pressure treatment lisinopril, sold under the brand names of Prinivil and Zestril, respectively, the Washington Post reports.
The list of drugs does not include generic versions of other popular drugs, such as painkillers Vicodin and Darvon and the anti-anxiety drug Xanax (Day, Washington Post, 9/22). USA Today reports that the drugs included in the program have been available generically for a relatively long period, have multiple manufacturers and are "already inexpensive" on the wholesale drug market. In addition, large companies can purchase the medications in bulk for less than the $4 cost, according to USA Today (USA Today, 9/22). Wal-Mart plans to add generic versions of additional popular drugs, such as cholesterol drug Zocor, to the program, company Executive Vice President Bill Simon said.
The drugs that Wal-Mart will sell for $4 have been discounted an average of 20%, and savings on some drugs will be "considerable," the Wall Street Journal reports. For example, Wal-Mart will charge $4 for 850 milligrams of diabetes treatment metformin, compared with $17.72 at other Florida Wal-Mart stores and $28.29 at Walgreen. However, a $4 prescription for blood-pressure drug atenolol is still more expensive than Costco's list price of $3.69, the Journal reports (McWilliams/Martinez, Wall Street Journal, 9/22).