LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer,
announced Monday it would expand its discounted prescription drug program to
offer 90-day supplies for $10 and add several women's medications at a discount.
It also said it would lower the price of more than 1,000 over-the-counter drugs.
The move marks the third phase of a company program that began in 2006 to
provide a 30-day supply of generic prescription drugs for $4. The
Bentonville-based company said the program has saved customers more than $1
billion.
With the expansion, the company began filling prescriptions Monday for up to
350 generic medications at $10 for a 90-day supply at Wal-Mart, Neighborhood
Market and Sam's Club pharmacies in the U.S. Almost all the prescription
generics in the company's $4 program were included in the expanded $10 offer,
said Wal-Mart senior vice president John Agwunobi.
In addition, the company will add several women's medications to its list of
prescriptions available for $9, including drugs to treat breast cancer and
hormone deficiency.
For instance, alendronate, the generic version of osteoporosis medication
Fosamax, will be added to the list. Company pharmacies will fill 30-day
prescriptions of alendronate for $9 and a 90-day supply for $24 at a comparison
of $54 and $102, respectively, that women previously paid for the same amounts,
the company said.
Tamoxifen, used to treat breast cancer, will be offered for $9 for a 30-day
supply, as well as combination estrogen/methyltestosterone tablets, prescribed
for menopause and hormone deficiency.
Wal-Mart also will lower the prices of more than 1,000 over-the-counter
medications to $4 or less in its pharmacies, company officials said. The company
has sold over-the-counter medicines in the past at discounted prices, but
revised and expanded its offerings specifically to include commonly used drugs
that usually sell for $7 or more, said company spokesman Deisha Galberth.
The over-the-counter medication price rollbacks represent about one-third of
the retailer's over-the-counter medicines. They include Wal-Mart's Equate
versions of popular drugs, including Zantac, Pepcid and Claritin, and Wal-Mart's
Spring Valley prenatal vitamins.
Since 2006, Wal-Mart's $4 generic drug program has expanded to every state,
except North Dakota, where Wal-Mart has no in-store pharmacies. And many company
competitors have followed the retailer's lead.
While stressing that the expansion was designed to help customers at a time
of exorbitant health-care costs and difficult economic times, Agwunobi said the
program has worked in everyone's favor.
"This is the time for us now to begin building capacity," he said. "It
offers (customers') employers potential savings. It offers the customers
significant savings. It also offers us the ability to add capacity to our
pharmacies without adding people."
Agwunobi expects the 90-day discount will increase the company's market
share of mail-order and online prescriptions as customers realize the value of
the company offer.
Wal-Mart Chief Operating Officer Bill Simon said the results in each phase
of the program have been strong and prescription volume has increased,
"exceeding our expectations." He said the company would not, however, offer free
generic drugs at its in-store clinics as some competitors have.
"We're in business to make money," Simon said. "Free is a price that is not
a long-term sustainable proposition."
Shares of Wal-Mart fell 44 cents to $57.06 in afternoon trading Monday.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|