Wal-Mart to Sell Generic Drugs for $4

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Wal-Mart announced today that it will start a test program in Florida, where it will sell generic prescription drugs for $4 for a 30-day supply. The test will start tomorrow in 65 Tampa Bay-area stores and is to expand to the whole state by January.

In a statement, CEO Lee Scott says the world's largest retailer intends to "take the program to as many states as possible next year."

On average, generic drugs tend to cost between $10 and $30 for a month-long supply.

The world's biggest retailer said that it will test the program in Florida that will make 291 generic drugs available, which are used to treat a variety of condition from allergies to high-blood pressure. It will also be available to the uninsured.


The program will be launched on Friday at 65 Wal-Mart, Neighborhood Market and Sams' Club pharmacies in the Tampa Bay area in Florida and will be expanded to the entire state in January.

The company said it plans to take the program to as many states as possible next year.

I know many dont like Walmart but this would be great!!! I cant think of anything bad unless its some kind of "experiment" government sponsored something or other....which could very well be.

What do you think??

apnews.excite.com...

I think it's great! Tha's less than my insurance copay for generic prescriptions (of which I have many).

Unfortunately there's no Wal-Mart in Manhattan yet.

COOL. but you know what,s gonna happen??

People will go to wallmart and the guy will try to sell them sertraline and they will say

''but does it contain any zoloft''??

I hope they get trained guys to dispense them or it,s gonna be a bit chaotic

I'm not worried about the pharmacists- they (supposedly) know what they're doing.

I'm a little worried about WHY this is being done. Sure, to get customers...but this is highly unlikely...
Something stinks here.

May I ask what relation this has with the war on terror?

On topic: If they are able to offer the drugs at such a low price it is heavily subsidized, otherwise I wouldn't want to know what they are made of.

What a strange healthcare system do you Americans have.

[edit on 23-9-2006 by Mdv2]

WHO SAID THIS IS RELATED TO TERROR?



I'm saying that it being Walmart, there may be more to it than meets the EYE.

Well, you did post it in the War on Terror section....

Target is following suit.

Target Corp. (TGT | charts | news | PowerRating) revealed that it is lowering prices on generic drugs in the Tampa Bay effective immediately. The company said that the price lowering was consistent with its long-standing practice to be price competitive with WalMart. Target said it was taking price competitive measures following WalMart's decision to make available 300 generic drugs at $4.00 per prescription for up to a 30-day supply at commonly prescribed dosages.

www.tradingmarkets.com...

Some small pharmacy owners are concerned that they may not survive the competition,

Dougherty's is trying to avoid being run out of business by big business and cuthroat [sic] pricing by expanding unique offerings including compounding services. That's an area Walmart and other retailers haven't branched into yet.

Joe Park says [t]he other private pharmacists may be nickel and dimed to death, if customers expect them to follow in Walmart giant footsteps."I make my living on pharmacy not selling chinese rubber shoes. so I need to take care of my clientelle [sic] when they come in. And if I can't survive that way, I'll go work for Walmart."

www.wfaa.com

Some feel that the impact on the competition will not be significant.

The plan, which is said to cover 300 drugs, includes only about 124 separate medicines in various dosages, like 12 versions of the popular antibiotic amoxicillin. It leaves out some popular drugs altogether, like the generic version of the cholesterol-lowering treatment Zocor.

And while uninsured people should benefit from the program, those with insurance may save only a dollar or so, making a trip to Wal-Mart not worth their while, analysts said. In Florida, where the program will have its debut, most people on Medicaid pay nothing and may have little incentive to shop around for cheaper prescription drugs.

“It is not as significant as it first seems, in our opinion,” said Joseph Agnese, an analyst at Standard & Poor’s, who expressed surprise at investors’ reaction to the Wal-Mart announcement, which sent shares of its competitors CVS and Walgreen down sharply yesterday.

walmartwatch.com

According to walmartwatch.com, Walmart has streamlined its own business operation and cut out third party distributors who drive up the price of generics for consumers.

As it has for dozens of consumer products, Wal-Mart reduced prices of generic prescription drugs by attacking the few remaining pockets of inefficiency in its operations. For example, it cut out third-party distributors that stood between the chain and drug manufacturers.

Wal-Mart appears to be taking some of those profits from the traditional middlemen to lower the prices it is charging for these generic drugs.

The company also introduced rapid, automated machines into its pharmacy distribution centers that had long relied on workers to fill orders.

“It is not glamorous,” said Bill Simon, an executive vice president at Wal-Mart. “It’s pennies at a time.”

walmartwatch.com

There appears to be no government conspiracy here, just the ever increasingly efficient business model that has made WalMart so successful.


[edit on 2006/9/23 by GradyPhilpott]

Yeah Wal-mart is a successful monopoly and that is their target to dominate all markets and drive out of business the competition.

Just like my way or the highway.

And anyway this will benefit their own employees that can not even afford Wal-mart health care programs.

You know people is always something to gain from such generous gesture coming from companies like War-Mart they are in a path to total domination in their areas.

Ahhhh, capitalism at its finest.


I really love it when capitalism works, gets me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

Cant wait to hear the “it’s not enough” arguments coming from the socialist left about this. You know that Democrats and unions, who claim to be for the poor, for the little guy, will surely warp this someway in order to blast Wal-Mart instead of praising them for helping the “little guy.”

But until then…TAHNKS WAL-MART!

Thanks for keeping us one step farther from having more of our paychecks stolen in the name of “free” healthcare. I would much rather pay Wal-Mart $4 than have another 10% of my money stolen so I can get “free” healthcare like our friendly neighbors to the north.

"War on Terror" - that must be an inside joke - anyhow I don't have any gripes about things getting more affordable, especially for the less fortunate. Bring on the cheap meds and keep droppin those gas prices.

It's all in the execution cavscout.

If they really botch this on a wide scale by hiring substandard pharmasists for decreased pay(the bix box grocers in Canada do something similiar), and an ESL student at best, communications between patient and pharmacist WILL suffer dramatically.

Complications could arise due to a pharmacist not knowing that some of the meds can interact in a toxic way, or worse, trying to tell the person and giving a completely different impression... etc etc...

I'm skeptical about this move, and not because it's Walmart. It's my Big Box store bias that mostly talking.

It will stifle competition because those who are on insurance will be bugged by their provider to go to where the cheapest drugs are. They did the same to me. I was going to a mom and pop to get my asthma meds before they pretty much forced me to start getting them from a Big Box store.

(I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't what happened when the Americans started rushing Canadian drug stores )

However with that said, there are some reasons I can applaud Walmart for recent work, their stated comittments to create green roofs on half their stores by 2010 is a laudible, though completely pragmatic goal as it will save them a lot of money in the long run from increased roof durability and increased insulation. Such systems on big box stores pay for themselves in a decade.

The other thing I applaud them for is their decision to get into the Organic food game. Though I still think a hard cross-border definition is in order so all these mis-labelled products will be taken off the shelves.

[edit on 23-9-2006 by sardion2000]

[edit on 23-9-2006 by sardion2000]

If there's any unspoken "conspiracy" here, the only thing I can think of is standard, quasi-covert marketing practices. They know someone's going to go in there to buy their meds at $4, as opposed to going elsewhere that may either be cheaper or closer. That customer's going to walk in with the intent of only buying their drugs, and (I'm sure Walmart's hoping) walk out with a shopping cart full of groceries or other stuff the person never intended.

What disappoints me though, is that I only have one prescription and I don't believe it has a generic alternative yet . Then again, I haven't had to worry about a generic with my insurance; I'm going to be loosing that insurance here in a week or so (changing jobs), so now I'm definitely going to be looking into it. Of course, I'm completely across the country in WA, so it's rather irrelevant to me right now anyways.

Originally posted by MCory1
That customer's going to walk in with the intent of only buying their drugs, and (I'm sure Walmart's hoping) walk out with a shopping cart full of groceries or other stuff the person never intended.

Yeah, I'm sure that will happen and that possibility has occurred to Wal-Mart execs. but is not something that can be controlled. What could they possibly do? Not allow their pharmacy customers to purchase items from the rest of the store while they are there?

Also, that is part of Wal-Mart's appeal. I can go there and get my food, clothes, electronics, house plants, car oil, and my RX all at once, in one stop, and it is CHEAPER than elsewhere. And I saved on gas.

Wal-Mart is one of the greatest things to happen to our society. Just think of the time they have saved us by not making us run around all day for our shopping. I am sure that they have actually saved tens of thousands of hours (collectively) for the people in America and a lot more than that in cash. Our society and economy owe Wal-Mart a pat on the back.

Of course, I'm completely across the country in WA, so it's rather irrelevant to me right now anyways.

Washington has Wal-Marts (did I misunderstand your statement?)

Originally posted by cavscout

Of course, I'm completely across the country in WA, so it's rather irrelevant to me right now anyways.

Washington has Wal-Marts (did I misunderstand your statement?)

The new prices will be available first in Florida and then slowly spread to the rest of the country, if it all works out.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Thursday it will sell nearly 300 generic drugs at $4 per prescription in Florida starting this week in a move that stunned rival drugstore chains, drug makers and benefits managers.

www.marketwatch.com

[edit on 2006/9/23 by GradyPhilpott]

OTHER CURRENT EVENTS....

want to continue this ?

[edit on 23-9-2006 by dgtempe]

The only thing that Wal-Mart has that I am interested on once in while, is certain food items.

Beside that, their clothing is not of my liking and I only go to their electronics to compare prices not to buy them.

I really don't get it, Wal-Mar appeals to the lower income class with their cheap produce and cheap tactics because that is what they target the needy in the country while giving low pay jobs to the same people that they cater, kind of a been stuck deal, work in the store that you can afford to buy in.

So the money keeps going on circles.

I prefer to pay a litter bit more for my goods and get better quality.

And for the drugs I get them either in the base pharmacy or at Winn Dixie Pharmacies.

I still pay only 3 dollars for prescription drugs under my insurance regardless of medicines.

The whole deal while attractive it has a catch attack to it.

Not corporations are really for the people anymore but for profits and gains.

So don't be fooled.

[edit on 23-9-2006 by marg6043]

This opens up a lot of jobs in the pharmacy profession as well, which I hear can be pretty tight these days.

AAC

DP, sorry

[edit on 23-9-2006 by AnAbsoluteCreation]

Originally posted by marg6043
The whole deal while attractive it has a catch attack to it.

Not corporations are really for the people anymore but for profits and gains.

So don't be fooled.

[edit on 23-9-2006 by marg6043]

I dont get it, where is the catch you speak of marg? Help me out here, I just don’t see it.

And yeah, you are right, corporations do things solely to make money, but that doesn’t make everything they do bad for others.

I don’t see how they are trying to fool anyone. People who don’t have great insurance like you do have to pay for prescriptions, like I do. With 4 children at home the $4 amoxicillin is sure going to help me out, and I don’t care if Wal-Mart is just doing it to make money, cause guess what, I still get the $4 prescription.

It isnt like they are killing baby seals to get the prices down.


And thanks GradyPhilpott, Iget so caught up in the big picture I often dont see the small things. Hope it works in FL so I can get it here.