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Wal-Mart Expands $4 Drug Program

Retail giant's list of generic meds now includes birth control

By Zach Samalin,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 28, 2007 2:29 PM CDT
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(Newser) – A year after launching its $4 prescription drug program, Wal-Mart yesterday added 24 names to its list of 361 generic medications. The company boasts that it now covers more than 95% of treatable common diseases, the St Petersburg Times reports, but critics call the program a publicity stunt and say Wal-Mart is using it as a loss leader.

Half the new offerings are various dosages of a blood thinner and a beta-blocker, but the other 12 include a fertility drug and two varieties of birth control pill (which go for $9 rather than $4). The retail giant says customers saved $610 million in the past 12 months compared to what they had been paying.

Wal-Mart has expanded its popular $4 generic prescriptions list, which reportedly now covers more than 95 percent of common diseases treatable by medicine.
Wal-Mart has expanded its popular $4 generic prescriptions list, which reportedly now covers more than 95 percent of common diseases treatable by medicine.   (Shutterstock.com)
Added to the $4 list are prescription treatments for glaucoma, asthma, attention deficit disorder and acne.
Added to the $4 list are prescription treatments for glaucoma, asthma, attention deficit disorder and acne.   (Shutterstock.com)
A Wal-Mart pharmacist fields questions in London, Ky., in this Thursday, June 14, 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/Samira Jafari)
A Wal-Mart pharmacist fields questions in London, Ky., in this Thursday, June 14, 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/Samira Jafari)   (Associated Press)
Signs mark the prices at the Wal-Mart store in Williston, Vt., Monday, Aug. 13, 2007. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
Signs mark the prices at the Wal-Mart store in Williston, Vt., Monday, Aug. 13, 2007. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)   (Associated Press)
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