Wal-Mart to stick its foot up pharmacutical companies asses, offers $4 prescription's

[e-brake]

Wal-Mart to sell generic drugs for $4 - Yahoo! News

TAMPA, Fla. - Wal-Mart announced today that it will start a test program in Florida, where it will sell generic prescription drugs for $4 for a 30-day supply. The test will start tomorrow in 65 Tampa Bay-area stores and is to expand to the whole state by January.
In a statement, CEO Lee Scott says the world's largest retailer intends to "take the program to as many states as possible next year."
On average, generic drugs tend to cost between $10 and $30 for a month-long supply.
The world's biggest retailer said Thursday that it will test the program in Florida and it will include 291 generic drugs available for conditions from allergies to high-blood pressure. The plan is available to its employees and customers, including those without insurance.
Wal-Mart officials said the reduced price represents a savings to the customer of up to 70 percent on some drugs.
"Wal-Mart is taking this step so our customers and associates can get the medicines they need at a cost they can afford," Bill Simon, executive vice president of the company's professional services division, said in announcing the plan at a Tampa, Fla., store.
The program will be launched on Friday at 65 Wal-Mart, Neighborhood Market and Sams' Club pharmacies in the Tampa Bay area and will be expanded to the entire state in January.
Simon wouldn't be specific about why Florida and specifically the Tampa Bay area was chosen for the rollout of the initiative, saying only that there was a need for it here.
The company said it plans to expand the program to as many states as possible next year.
Simon said the 291 generic drugs include "the most commonly prescribed drugs for the some of the most common illnesses that face Americans today, including cardiac disease, asthma, diabetes, glaucoma, Parkinson's (disease) and thyroid conditions."
Simon wouldn't give details on how much the plan is expected to cost Wal-Mart or the company's dealings with the drug companies involved.
"We're able to do this by using one of our greatest strengths as a company — our business model and our ability to drive costs out of the system, and the model that passes those costs savings to our customers," he said. "In this case were applying that business model to health care."
The $4 prescriptions are not available by mail order and are being offered online only if picked up in person in the Tampa Bay area.
In a conference call with reporters, Simon said that the generic drugs would not be sold at a loss to entice customers into the stores, a strategy that has been used in Wal-Mart's toy business.
He said Wal-Mart is working with drugmakers to help them be more efficient, but added, "We are working with them as partners. We are not pressuring them to reduce prices."
Tampa Wal-Mart pharmacy customer Pat Sullivan praised the company's initiative. The retired Massachusetts police officer said $4 generic prescriptions are a tremendous help.
"I'm on disability and my benefits run out by the end of the month," he said. "It comes down to where do I go for a $100 prescription? I have no outlet other than to break a pill in half and take half today and half tomorrow."
The initiative is the fourth since last October that Wal-Mart has moved to improve health benefits.
Wal-Mart's recent moves included relaxing eligibility requirements for its part-time employees who want health insurance, and extending coverage for the first time to the children of those employees. Part-time employees, who had to work for Wal-Mart for two years to qualify, now have to work at the company for one year. This year, Wal-Mart also expanded a trial run of in-store clinics, aimed at providing lower cost non-emergency health care to the public.
Last October, Wal-Mart offered a new lower-premium insurance aimed at getting more of its work force on company plans.
But critics argue that Wal-Mart's coverage calls for a deductible that requires workers to pick up the first $1,000 in medical expenses, and the deductible rises to a maximum of $3,000 for families.
Union-backed Wake Up Wal-Mart, one of its most vociferous critics, have called upon Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart to offer better health care coverage and higher pay to employees.
Critics contend that the company's benefits are too stingy, forcing taxpayers to absorb more of the cost as the workers lacking coverage turn to state-funded health care programs.
This past summer, Wal-Mart won a successful fight against a first-of-its-kind state law that would have required the retailer to spend more on employee health care in Maryland. A federal judge ruled in July that it was invalid under federal law. But other states are considering similar legislation aimed at the company.

[Nyteshade]

Eh, I don't think the $20 I pay for a prescription is that bad but then again I'm rarely on medication. Good step though but I must say, somewhere the costs have to be made up. What are they going to cut to keep the prices that low?

[e-brake]

Originally Posted by Nyteshade

Eh, I don't think the $20 I pay for a prescription is that bad but then again I'm rarely on medication. Good step though but I must say, somewhere the costs have to be made up. What are they going to cut to keep the prices that low?

If its typical Wal-Mart they did a study and discovered that people who pick up prescriptions end up purchasing something else while they are in the store. Its known as a lost leader in marketing, they sell something and make $0 or even lose money on the product because they know that before you exit the building you will pick up something else that you need that makes them a larger profit.

Its a business model that wal-mart thrives on, they do this with DVD's and toys. They are known to sell toys and DVD's for less than they purchase them for because they know people go to wal-mart to purchase those products and end up leaving with a cart full of other shit thats high profit.

[HarveytheRabbit]

Originally Posted by e-brake

If its typical Wal-Mart they did a study and discovered that people who pick up prescriptions end up purchasing something else while they are in the store. Its known as a lost leader in marketing, they sell something and make $0 or even lose money on the product because they know that before you exit the building you will pick up something else that you need that makes them a larger profit.

Its a business model that wal-mart thrives on, they do this with DVD's and toys. They are known to sell toys and DVD's for less than they purchase them for because they know people go to wal-mart to purchase those products and end up leaving with a cart full of other shit thats high profit.

I remember my mom always telling me about 7-11's milk when I was a kid. They do the same thing there.

That's pretty good that they are doing that though

[E-Nice]

Walmart looking for some positive PR.

All merchants should do likewise.

I would like to see canadian drugs become more of an issue in the midterms and in 08.

[deepness]

good. cause if there is one thing i hate more than corporate america it's pharmaceutical corporate america...

[matt]

im sure it has to do with a contract they were able to negotiate due to their volume. With so many generic companies competing in the same space this couid be achieved with ease...

[PETA]

Originally Posted by matt

im sure it has to do with a contract they were able to negotiate due to their volume. With so many generic companies competing in the same space this couid be achieved with ease...

negotiated price (awp - x%) plus a dispensation fee....

the pharmacy, to a large extent, gtes paid in a piece rate - especially with generics

did I get anywhere near the target Matt?

[matt]

awp -15% is the national average for Medicare/Medicaid currently in retail and acute care settings. however, the private payors are all over the board. there is also an asp (average sales price) + 6% that came about after the Medicare reform act a couple years ago. a lot of the pbm's do pay for data too, so there is a possibility that a walmart is sending patient data upstream. with this being walmart I could definitely see that...

[Dionysos]

Define 'sending patient data upstream'...is that BS-speak for selling customer information?

[matt]

yepper. selling customer demographics.

[e-brake]

Originally Posted by matt

yepper. selling customer demographics.

They may as well its not like CVS, Albertsons, Kroger, etc. havent been doing the same thing with those frequent shopper cards for years now.

[Los]

Originally Posted by deepness

good. cause if there is one thing i hate more than corporate america it's pharmaceutical corporate america...

What do you have a problem with?? Is it anything in particular or are you just one of those anti-corprate hippies? Ya, pharmacudical companies make tons of money, and they also charge an assload when a new drug is finally cleared to sell on the market... Then again are you aware of the cost that they incur to actually get a new drug out on the shelves (check out their financial statments)? R & D acconts are huge with these companies, not to mention the payroll for lab tech's, then you go into the years and years of testing, re-testing/re configuring these drugs before they are approved and hit the market. By that time they have accumulated a mound of debt, not to mention that due to the time that it takes to release the drug, they have a limited time to recoup their expense before the product becomes public domain. That is when the generic companies step in and take thier recipie and mass produce it at a fraction of the cost (its easy to do when you don't have the cost to actually have to do the research yourself). Actually, it does work out well because the average person can't afford the crazy ass prices for healthcare let alone, pharmacudicals (<<I suck at spelling). Trust me, without these "evil" corporations with, things would be alot diffrent.

[la dj]

i cant stand seeing the big guy kill the little guy.

this will kill off the remaining mom and pops pharmacies that have managed to survive walgreen's and cvs.

the pharmacies i deal with are uber pissed. couple that up with the whole medicare D thing, and it's definitely a killer. most of them that i speak to have yet to be paid on the last go round and it's almost time for round 2.

MC D, sounded good on paper, just didnt pan out IRL.

*looks for a new channel of business*

[Los]

Ya, corporations have always been a double edged sword. On one hand, its really tough to complain about getting medicine for almost 1/3 the price you would normally pay. Then on the other hand, if you are one of these mom and pop pharmacy's, it is more than impossible to compete. I do not always side with huge corporations because due to the size of their wallets, their negative effects are usually felt on a LARGE scale... but then again so are their positive effects as well. You can't have the sweet without the sour Tom Cruise(though I do have to agree that I get depressed when I see a Going Out Of Business sign on a mom/pop business, and a Walmsrt right next door).

Are pharmacists able to write perscriptions now? La DJ is this the Medicare D thing you were talking about, or am I just way off here?