Wal-Mart Offers $4 Prescription Drugs

Pharmacies are increasingly facing stiff competition from the trans-border online prescription trade. Many of the drugs come from Canada, where health care is subsidized and drugs come at a fraction of the cost as their counterparts in the U.S. Now, Wal-Mart is making its foray into this market niche by offering $4 generic drugs.

The Details of Wal-Mart's Four-dollar Drug Program

Starting at $4 for a 90-day supply of prescription drugs, Wal-Mart's pharmacy easily competes with online retailers. At the same time, some of the approximate 50-million uninsured individuals in America now have an affordable option for prescription drugs (which turns out to be the largest chunk of health care costs for consumers).

How Much Has the Prescription Drug Program Saved Consumers

In fact, to illustrate how much its saving consumers on prescription drugs, the company has been keeping a tally of cost savings since it started the program. Wal-Mart has, according to their press release, saved consumers over $1.1 billion since the program's inception.

In the midst of all the negative Wal-Mart coverage lately, the prescription drug program is being hailed as a general all-around success, and the reporting of its program has been overwhelmingly positive. Is the praise well-deserved, or is Wal-Mart only after the lucrative niche in low-cost drugs? And will prices remain stable, or is Wal-Mart using a bait-and-switch? Only time will tell.

List of Wal-Mart's Four Dollar Drugs

• http://i.walmart.com/i/if/hmp/fusion/four_dollar_drug_list.pdf
• http://www.livebetterindex.com/4fact.pdf

photo credit: aka Kath