Wal-Mart adds 11 generic drugs to discounted prescription drug program

Wal-Mart Stores on Thursday announced that it will begin selling eight additional generic drugs for $4 per 30-day prescription and several family-planning drugs for $9, USA Today reports (Appleby, USA Today, 9/28).

The added medications include treatments for glaucoma, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, fungal infections and acne (Albright, St. Petersburg Times, 9/28). In addition, Wal-Mart will offer generic versions of the birth control drugs Ortho Cyclen and Ortho Tri-Cyclen and a fertility drug for $9 per 30-day supply.

The discount drug program, which started in September 2006, now will cover 361 prescriptions representing different formulations of 157 generic drugs (Saul, New York Times, 9/28). The new additions add about 24 prescriptions to the program (Bernstein, Long Island Newsday, 9/28).

According to Wal-Mart Chief Operating Officer Bill Simon, the program has saved customers and the U.S. health care system $610 million (New York Times, 9/28). Other retail chains, including Kmart, Publix and Target, have advertised similar programs (St. Petersburg Times, 9/28). Target officials on Thursday said the company would match Wal-Mart's discounts in all prescriptions categories, the Newark Star-Ledger reports (May, Newark Star-Ledger, 9/28). The company said that the $4 program accounts for about 40% of prescription drug sales at its pharmacies and is profitable (St. Petersburg Times, 9/28).