Wal-Mart Launches Phase Two of $4 Prescription Program

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. yesterday said it had entered phase two of its $4 prescription program, with changes aimed at helping more consumers deal with health care costs.

The expansions to the program are:
-- Twenty-four $4 prescription medicines have been added covering glaucoma, attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD), fungal infections, and acne. Three women's medications -- generic birth control product for Ortho Cyclen and Ortho Tri-Cyclen, and a fertility product, Clomiphene -- will also be included at $9, compared with national average prices of $24 to $30 per month.
--Faster savings on new-to-market generics such as terbinafine, the generic equivalent of the antifungal Lamisil, and carvedilol, the generic for Coreg, which will be available for $4 for up to a 30-day supply, saving customers $333.26 per prescription and $115 per month -- or about $1,300 per year -- respectively.

Phase two of the program "reinforces our commitment to driving costs out of the health system and saving money for our customers so they can live better, healthier lives," noted Dr. John Agwunobi, Wal-Mart s.v.p. and president for the professional services division, in a statement.

A total of 361 products made up of 157 medication compounds are now available at Wal-Mart pharmacies across the United States.

Certain drugs cost more than $4 in some states, among them California, Colorado, Hawaii, Minnesota, Montana, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, and because of state laws, the newly added women's medications aren't available for $9 in those states, according to Wal-Mart

According to Wal-Mart, the prescription program, which debuted in Tampa, Fla. in September 2006 and expanded to 49 states by Nov. 28 of that year (Wal-Mart doesn't operate in-store pharmacies in North Dakota), has already saved Americans more than $610 million in its first year. The program is now available at 4,005 Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and Neighborhood Market pharmacies in the United States. Wal-Mart has also introduced a similar discount program in Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Brazil.

Wal-Mart Stores operates Wal-Mart discount stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam's Club locations in the United States. The company also operates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom.
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