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Wal-Mart Adds More Generic Drugs To Discount Plan

$10 for a 90-day supply of popular generic, OTC drugs

May 5, 2008

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Wal-Mart says it is adding more generic drugs to its discount sales promotion, in which the commonly prescribed medication is sold from $4 for a 30-day supply to $10 for a 90-day supply.

The retailer says "Phase 3" of its plan, which began in 2006, will also include some over the counter medication.

"More and more people find health care, and particularly prescribed medicines, difficult to afford. This is one of the reasons we continually work to take our $4 Prescription Program to the next level," said Dr. John Agwunobi, Wal-Mart senior vice president and president, health and wellness.

The company says its 90-day option gives more choices to customers and physicians who may have been limited to mail order prescriptions in the past. Included in the latest offering:

• Enhanced $4 Prescription Program Beginning today, Wal-Mart, Neighborhood Market and Sam's Club pharmacies will fill prescriptions for up to 350 generic medications at $10 for a 90-day supply. Wal-Mart says this option will give customers an additional choice and save them time and money without the hassle of purchasing or signing-up for a pharmacy discount card.

• Additional women's health medicines Expanding on the women's medicines added to Wal-Mart's prescription program in September 2007, Alendronate, the recently introduced generic version of Fosamax used to treat osteoporosis, is now available at Wal-Mart, Neighborhood Market and Sam's Club pharmacies for $9 for up to a 30-day supply or $24 for a 90-day supply. Wal-Mart says it previously sold the drug for $54 for the same generic supply or $102 for the same branded supply.

• New $4 OTC offering Wal-Mart Stores and Neighborhood Markets today began a new $4 OTC program, offering customers more than 1,000 OTC items priced at $4 or less without a prescription. Wal-Mart has rolled back prices on key OTC items to ensure that almost one-third of its OTC medicines are now $4 or lower. OTC drugs in the program include the Equate-brand versions of popular drugs like Zantac, Pepcid and Claritin are priced, which are now priced at $4.

Wal-Mart said up to 95 percent of the prescriptions written in the majority of therapeutic categories are included in the $4 Prescription Program available at Wal-Mart, Neighborhood Market and Sam's Club pharmacies nationwide. The new prices for these prescriptions are available for commonly prescribed dosages for up to 30-days or 90-days.

Launched in Tampa, Florida in September 2006, Wal-Mart's $4 Prescription Program has expanded to 49 states. Wal-Mart does not operate in-store pharmacies in its North Dakota stores. Here is a complete list of the drugs in Wal-Mart's plan (pdf file).

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