Wal-Mart to Sell Generic Drugs for $4

Hey Dg

I know China is becoming very proficient at cloning drugs as well as even making counterfeits of certain drugs too. I am wondering DG if these will be American made drugs being sold at better prices or will they be Generics that have been made in China? If this is the case , then I can't see this as being very good for the economy if its going to be taking more money out of the USA and on top of that be putting small mom and pop places out of business as well as placing a lot of pressure on other larger drug store chains.

Pie

Pie,

Wow, thanks for letting us know China could be making the generics...hmmm... that would make sense here...I would hope its disclosed that the products would be made in China...Something isnt quite right about this whole thing, and you may have hit on it.
There has to be a catch. American drug manufacturers have been so greedy for so many years its hard to fathom them involved in the sale of $4.00 drugs. I dont care if they're generic or not. :shk:
Thanks for the info.

Hey guess what, I work at Wal-Mart here in Tampa. Only the certiied Pharmacist ever plays with the drugs. But any of Pharmacy area associates can handle the transaction and give you your stuff. Matter of fact just about every Wal-Mart in Tampa that has a Pharmacy is staffed with bilingual associates, so there is never really a communications issue either.

I have made it a point to visit almost every Wal-Mart I see when I travel. those little noname towns that have a huge supercenter with almost zero competition maintain the same exact prices on most goods as any other here in the city. So please put that silly "they will dirve up the prices sky high when they monopolize everything!!" statements to rest peoples. It kind of defies the whole logic of what the companie's values and core business model are based on.

also, Here in Tampa the Urban supercenter, which is less than half the size of a typical one is only like a a few blocks away from a CVS pharmacy which was just recently put up last year. their business is doing fine. So are the pool chemicals stores further down on the same road. So are a bunch of the small time retailers on the same road. Noone is being driven out of town, at least not in the bigger cities.

I pray to GOD they will be allowed to hurry up and open their banking operations. That will make life so much easier for too many people. Id bet a sizeable portion of our 1.3 million person workforce will switch over, pissing off a lot of big bankers out there. Yea our health insurance optinos ar probably not the best, but pretty decent. And many of my fellow associates utilize them, not just a few.

Originally posted by DYepes
Hey guess what, I work at Wal-Mart here in Tampa.

Cool.

Do you think you'd be able to ask where your pharmacy is going to get the generic drugs on this 291 list? That would be great information. I mean will they be provided by US pharmacies or imported from China or somewhere?

The links said that is only US approved generic drugs and US providers on generic drugs so the China conspiracy could be something in the future if the plan works and is too much demand for the US providers.

Now it will be nice like BH said to get a list of the drugs that are been targeted by Wal-Mart.

Yea I just came back from vacation in New Mexico. Tomorrow Ill talk to my friends in the Pharmacy and ask them if they seen any kind of list. It is likely the information has simply just been updated on our systems, which they do in a blink of an eye, and the price only comes up after being scanned at the register. But I will ask.

As far as Wal-Mart planning to import these drugs from China in the future, I do not see that as a big issue. That is a long ways off and it does not seem to likely anyways. There are not much of a human factor in the assembly production of pharmaceutical drugs. Just automated computers and machines measuring, packing, and labeling everything on its own. even so, every other pharmacy would be doing the same exact thing by then, so the complaints would have to be directed at everyone else as well. All part of globalization, and if one wishes to learn more about the benefits, check out "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman.

Wal-Mart pharmacies do not seem to be hurting the competition in my area. Within a 5 mile radius, there are Wal-Marts, Walgreens, CVS, Rite-Aid, Brooks, and a host of mom&pop pharmacies.

One generic I use costs $8.00 at Wal-Mart and $29 at Walgreens. It's been that price for at least 2 years. Why would I give the extra $20 to Walgreens?

Foreign manufacture is not really an issue. How many US citizens goto Canada for refills? There is legislation under review to ease that process right now.

Foreign mfr's are held to the same high standards as US mfr's. If you want an interesting look at generics, check out the Generic Pharmaceutical Association website.

Jso,

They may be held to the same high standards, except all the profits would go to them.

Originally posted by dgtempe
Jso,

They may be held to the same high standards, except all the profits would go to them.

Oh, right, so that's it, huh? You want the money!

OK. How much do you want?

What does it matter who is getting the profits because it is not any one of us, unless you are a shareholder. And if thats the case, I don't believe you would midn at all.

The fact is everything is made all over the world now. the parts that make up even an AMERICAN car was made in at least half a dozen different countries, the only thing probably American about it is the design itself. This is how the world is now.

Jobs are scattered about the globe. It is ok though, we are still exporting a number of things that we specialize in, just like Chinas also probably uses Indian services, and maybe India does outsourcing to Eastern Europe. This is the new world, if we as a society simply attempt to stop it from happening by putting up too many protections our economy will fail.

Anyways, I have the lst, it is available freely in any store in the Tampa Bay area as far as I know. I will pit up the scan later.

Originally posted by DYepes

Anyways, I have the list, it is available freely in any participating¹ store in the Tampa Bay area as far as I know. I will pit up the scan later.

¹[edited for accuracy: added word to lessen confusion]

I have discovered it was quite simple to aquire the list of drugs, participating stores in the Tampa Bay Area only, and the official press release from the Wal-Mart Pharmacy Web Page


Drug List
Participating Stores
Press Release

Well there are the facts. Is there anything else I may be of assistance for?

It is my understanding that it will only be offered to those without health insurance. I could be wrong, but thats the way that I heard it. It originally was for the hispanics that come here and have no insurance. Which is good and bad. Good, in that we as taxpayers arent paying for all of their prescriptions anymore. Bad, in that it encourages more of the illegal immigrants to come over then we will have to learn their language. Good luck to whoever gets it!

I'm no drug expert but I do assist seniors with Medicare Part D. Many of those who I help are taking many of these medicines that are on the $4 list, especially the heart stuff. They have to take these maintenance medicines every day. Doesn't look too bad of a list, doesn't cover everything but at least it is a start.

My question is are these drugs going to become a loss leader for Wal mart much in the way that golf balls are for sports mega stores? Can it be profitable to offer these drugs at such a price? I know the price mark up of some of these drugs from talking to pharmacists, and wouldn't be surprised if you still could eek out a small profit still, even at the $4 price.

DYepes

Thanks for the list, indeed it has some medicines that will be good for parents that have children with asthma.

I noticed that one of my blood pressure pills is there but not the other one I am taking.

But I still pay 3 dollars with my insurance.

The list is limited but it does have plenty of high blood pressure medicines but only on low doses of it.

Originally posted by Bob Loblaw
It is my understanding that it will only be offered to those without health insurance. I could be wrong, but thats the way that I heard it. It originally was for the hispanics that come here and have no insurance. Which is good and bad. Good, in that we as taxpayers arent paying for all of their prescriptions anymore. Bad, in that it encourages more of the illegal immigrants to come over then we will have to learn their language. Good luck to whoever gets it!

I do not where you got your information, but your questionable opinion is not only silly, but incorrect. Are you assuming that All Hispanics that come here are looking to load up on prescription drugs?

Yes you can also use your insurance for these drugs. I hope you will deny the ignorance that you swallowed as truth.