Wal-Mart: Generics At $10 For A 90-Day Supply
10 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // May 5th, 2008 // 10:43 am
The world’s biggest retailer will offer about 350 generic meds at the low price and, according to a statement, has also added $9 meds to treat breast cancer, menopause and hormone deficiency as part of a plan to save women more than $100 million annually. Here’s the list of drugs.
The retailer, which started its $4 generic program in 2006, faces growing competition from Kmart, Walgreen, and CVS/Caremark, which are targeting Americans who lack insurance to pay for their drugs, Bloomberg News notes, adding that nearly a third of Wal-Mart’s over-the-counter drugs now sell for $4 or less.
“We are trying to help our customers through tough times,” John Agwunobi, Wal-Mart’s president of health and wellness, says today on a conference call. Some elderly couples are sharing heart meds and some consumers are delaying purchases, he continues, adding that purchasing a 90-day supply may help consumers save on co-pays and avoid mail-order delays.
Kmart, which sells three-month supplies of some generic drugs for $15, said in March it would sell over-the-counter drugs such as aspirin and decongestants for $1 each, Bloomberg points out.
James
There are so many Wal-mart bashers in cyberspace that it is nice to see a story like this. WM haters attack them for not paying enough and providing enough benefits to their associates, but WM also allows many working class folks to get needed items cheaply. I was raised in a “poor” home (we were well below the poverty line), but I was always at school, clean and dressed, thanks in large part to Wal-Mart and KMart. And I definitely preferred Wal-Mart, because they had jeans other than Wrangler (and any guy who has worn old-school Wrangers know they are not comfortable in…ahem… certain areas).
I love that WM is staying true to their mission by making drugs available cheaply (of course, they’re probably manufactured in China, so I hope they’re getting actual drugs and not rat poison, but that’s for another thread).
Insider
James,
The sign of an intellect is the ability to keep 2 conflicting points of view in your mind at the same time:
Wal-Mart, gotta love them for this kind of initiative
Wal-mart, gotta hate them for how they sometimes treat their employees
Oh, and James, who’s to say where Big Pharma’s drugs and raw materials are made……?
Lisa Van S
Wow,.. I sure hope they arent dispensing Psychotropic drugs in 90-day supplies, that would be VERY DANDGEROUS!
Jack2
Ed did include a link to a list of drugs, organized by therapuetic type. And yes, they are.
Former pharma Marketing Exec
It can use some refinement, but the spirit of offering drugs at such a low price is highly commendable.
I do not usually like going to “wally-world” but if I needed drugs and I could save money, they would be top of my list.
I wonder if they let their pharmacists override womans rights and not sell Plan B? Hmmmm…..
Rappanhannock
Buyer beware: Wal-Mart gets 70% of its products from communist China. I’m not saying these generic meds are from China, I’m just saying I’d be careful as the Bentonville behemoth is notorious for having to recall toxic products.
Dingle
I wouldn’t be any more concerned about Walmart generics than I would generics in general. Walmart sources their generics from the same suppliers as anyone else (Ranbaxy, Teva, Reddy, etc.). The problem is that they often buy their actives from smaller companies, many of which are in Asia.
Adam J. Fein
I have seen many misleading assessments of Wal-Mart’s program. Ed does a great job of getting the facts right, especially compared to many traditional “old media” news sources.
FYI, I have posted a more detailed of the economics behind their program on my blog:
http://www.drugchannels.net/2008/05/wal-mart-redux.html
Regards,
Adam
Prescription Access Litigation
At the Prescription Access Litigation blog, we did a blog entry on Walmart’s announcement, and included a list of the other chain stores with similar discount programs (Target, Kroger, Walgreens, Randalls, Kmart and HEB), with links to those programs. See here for the full entry: prescriptionaccess.org/blog/?p=269
Lily
Three cheers for all the drugstores with $4 generics! And now Wal-Mart has started selling 3 months of some generics for $10. Wow! For my other meds that aren’t generic I use the drug card that I found at http://www.rxdrugcard.com. Low membership fee. Drug prices posted to check before you join.