(U-WIRE) NORMAL, Ill. – To help mark the one-year anniversary of its $4 generic prescription drug program, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has added 30 different prescriptions to the program.
“”We introduced the program last year with great results and are now entering into what we call “”Phase Two”” of the program,”” Kori Lundberg, Wal-Mart spokesman, said.
The addition of these 30 prescriptions, which are made up of 14 drugs in varying doses, brings the overall total to 361 prescriptions and 157 different compounds.
“”The new prescriptions added to the program that cover fungal diseases, acne, glaucoma, attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,”” Lundberg said.
These drugs were added to an already extensive list of diseases covered under the world’s largest retailer’s program.
“”We already had prescriptions covering things such as women’s health, diabetes, heart illnesses, mental illnesses, pain medications, skin diseases and thyroid problems,”” Lundberg said.
Along with the additions made to its $4 program, the Bentonville, Ark., based corporation also lowered the price of two prescription birth control drugs and one fertility drug to $9.
“”These prescriptions are generally more expensive than other types of medication, so $9 is the lowest we could go (with the drugs),”” Lundberg.
The $4 prescription drug program was implement by Wal-Mart one year ago to try and make health care more affordable.
“”The goal of the program was for us to do our part and make health care more affordable for the everyday people,”” Lundberg said.
“”We have seen wonderful results so far in just one short year of the program’s existence,”” Lundberg added.
The results Lundberg is speaking of is the $610 million the program has saved shoppers in one year. These numbers are based on the figures from two years ago compared with those of this past year.
Along with the millions saved at a national level, Wal-Mart representatives calculated the state of Illinois saved around $22 million alone in this past year.
“”We have taken what we do best, working with suppliers, driving costs out of the supply chain and passing those savings to our customers. Now we’re applying that to health care.”” Bill Simon, chief operating officer, said.
This past year the $4 generic prescription drugs accounted for around 40 percent of the prescriptions filled at Wal-Mart, a rate expected to drastically climb over the course of the next year.
“”Right now, all Wal-Mart stores in 49 states are providing high-quality generic prescriptions for a low-rate of $4,”” Lundberg said. The only state not apart of the program is North Dakota, whose Wal-Mart pharmacies are run separately from the store itself.
