RSSEvil Wal-Mart Testing Low Cost Generic Drugs
Wal-Mart, the store that the left has been demonizing quite regularly, has announced a test program in the Tampa Bay area to sell certain generic drugs. The pricing, 4 dollars for a 30 day supply. And they are hoping to get as many as 291 drugs added to the list that will sell for the the low 4 dollar price.
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.
What is great about this is that Wal-Mart is the one company with the strength to force changes in how drug prices are charged. This program which is slated to roll out throughout Florida by the end of January and then across the country in 2007, is ground-breaking to say the least.
By offering a discount to everyone, not just selected groups, Walmart is breaking down a barrier to care that is present in society. And the pressure on drug companies when the generic is offered at such a low price is going to be significant.
Another great example of the marketplace correcting an issue without government involvement.
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24 Responses to “Evil Wal-Mart Testing Low Cost Generic Drugs”
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one desperate ploy after another. at least it should help out some consumers.
Fantastic! I feel lucky that some generic drugs I get of a co pay of 5,10,15 $. I am happy others will have the same or better way! Our Nation will Greatly Benefit from this and save many lives for Americans.
Now I can to to Walmart and pay them and get it less than my insurance.
A chain breaking into a new idea like this is great, large enough to get it done
WLAMART is not the “root of all evil”
that people make it
out to be. imo
Nor is Microsoft… in America, you are free
to build a BETTER MOUSE TRAP!
If you have THE NEXT
IDEA, an work it hard enough to bring it about…
you’re the next Bill Gates.
Just hopefully you’ll
have a hipper haircut?
http://tinyurl.com/p8dho
I for one get tired of hearing how the “mom and pop” stores are now out of business due to Walmart. In our town the mom and pop stores are still here, but they don’t keep hours that any working person can use – they open at 10:00 and close at 5:00 M-F, and Sat and Sun if they aren’t closed, they are only open until noon. So Walmart wins out because they are actually open….
Makes on wonder how much those drugs really cost?
Carpe right again, why do we punish the go getters in this country, almost sounds like those crying for freedom, really want socialism. Not me I want what I earn no less no more, If I am smart enuff to build a better mouse trap and people buy it, then I reap the rewards.
Wel, Well, Target is going to follow suit with Walmart.
Wonderful , the consumers benifit due to some good old competition. Look what that dammed Wal-mart done
Exactly, WalMart is a great company because they provide what we need at a price we want to pay, when we want to buy it. That typically is the recipe for success.
I worked for a company that supplied WalMart and the rest of the big box retailers. They were tough in negotiations, but after the deal was struck, they were absolutely ethical in their dealings. And they worked hard to make their vendors succeed.
Tom
The Wal Mart in Indiana Pennsylvania is a piece of crap. They pay their employees $6.50 an hour and no one works 40 hours. At least they can afford their perscriptions now.
Joanie,
Nobody HAS to work at Wal-mart, it is a choice, just like deciding on continued education.
look what wal-mart has done baloney. this is about market forces – these guys have one aim and one aim only the bottom line. it’s the american way!
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8K9HVL00.htm
People in Indiana County PA have no choice; coal mines are gone, steel mills are gone, manufacturing is gone – and Wal Mart KNEW they would get lots of employees for cheap wages.
Joanie, Pennsylvania is a big state. If there are no other jobs in your area, may I suggest you move to an area where there are better paying jobs? Or perhaps one could consider furthering their education at nearby Indiana University of PA or a technical school, thereby improving their chances of a better paying job. There are always choices.
I agree on Mrs. Red’s point above…
about the box stores being so darn good
at what they do, and the massive buying
power they can achieve, giving people
rock bottom prices… mom and pop have
to:
a- fold altogether
b. or set themselves apart with a unique
service or product that a box store
simply can not touch. Carve out your
Zorro niche.
The B.S. keep an independent bustin’ it.
————-
http://tinyurl.com/nb6qb
http://tinyurl.com/h9ode
http://tinyurl.com/lakt7
In 2000, I moved to Las Vegas Nevada. It is good wage heaven. However, I have many friends in pa who are poor and cannot pull up stakes as I did and leave. Indiana PA is a a very poor, sad area. I know people who live in school buses and get less than $800 a month in income. Wal Mart knows this and took advantage of the area. Wal Marts in other parts of the country pay better, but not in Indiana County PA.
Ramlady; I agree with you that there are choices – but not in every situation. I have experienced and seen and lived with very poor, down trodden, beaten people. I took a great big chance, but I was also very lucky. My friends back in my home area have given up. They drive old, broken down cars and make enough to just put food on the table. They don’t have a chance to better themselves because kids need food and clothes and medicine. School isn’t in the mix. There just are no jobs in that area of Western PA and the county government has not done much in over 30 years. Some people don’t want to leave elderly parents and move out of state. Sometimes there are NO choices.
Joanie, I feel for your friends who have not been able to pull up stakes and leave to find a better life elsewhere. You are to be congratulated for taking action to improve your situation; I just find it odd that you are making Wal-Mart out to be the bad guy here. Rather than taking advantage of the area, it seems to me that Wal-Mart recognized that this area would benefit from opening up shop in an area desperate for jobs. Obviously, scanning merchandise and stocking shelves does not pay nearly as well as coal mining. I assume this area is in the Appalachians and is very similar to many areas in the South where I live. I understand what you are saying about some people not being able or willing to pull up stakes and go where there are better-paying jobs, but sometimes you have to understand that the jobs are not going to come to you so you must go to them, as you have done. Believe me, many of us in TN have been there too. My husband is from a very small town in middle TN where there are basically two factories in the whole county and not much else (very low-paying jobs with very little benefits). Most people who live in this county either drive 30 miles to the next county where I am from (small college town with better paying jobs) or they drive 100 miles to Nashville every day to work. It’s not easy, but it is certainly better than being dirt poor. My husband and I are both from working-class families, and neither of us had anything handed to us. We met while attending college in my hometown. I worked part-time to pay my own way, and my husband worked odd jobs and raised tobacco on his family farm to pay for college. It hasn’t been easy, but we are very fortunate, and I realize not everyone is as fortunate. It can be very tough to leave the place you have always called home and the people you love to try to find a better life elsewhere.
Ramlady! I wish you and I could go back to my old home town and chat with my friends! They seem to think that Las Vegas is a seedy, nasty sinful town! My first job out here got me $14 an hour. My x husband – Indiana Co. PA – working 30 years for the same company is just making $10 an hour. I have seen that other W marts around the country pay much better than the W Mart in Indiana County PA. This is my beef. If they can pay Oregon W Mart workers $8 or $9 an hour, why can’t the PA W Mart pay the same? Thats why I am complaining about Wal Mart. Wages across this great country – in Wal Mart – are not uniform. This is why I believe W Mart took advantage of the poor area. I like chatting with you! GREAT topics! Thanks!
i read in the washington post weekend section that walmart is not making any profit on these drugs. apparently none at all. they are hoping to attract customers who will come in and buy the drugs and then buy other things while they are in the store. basically, it the “just get them in the door” technique. it’s a very smart move, i think.
What I’m waiting to read is the list of Generic drugs they will be selling………….it may be very limited, dunno?
I think this is a great idea. Four dollars for a 30-day supply is almost free. This will be wonderful for people who have no prescription drug coverage, and even those who do have coverage will be able to get their medicine cheaper than going through their insurance. The CEO says they hope to add as many as 291 drugs to the list. It will be interesting to see if Wal-Mart’s competitors will follow suit.
#17 Joanie, I understand that you think it is unfair for Wal-Mart to not have a uniform payscale throughout the country, but honestly, it is simple economics rather than them taking advantage of poor communities. All businesses do this. In certain areas where there is no competition for jobs, they can get away with paying workers less than in areas where there are more businesses competing for workers. Also, there is great disparity in the cost-of-living in many areas. In an economically depressed area, they may be able to get all the workers they need for $10 an hour while in an area where workers have more choices, it may take $14 an hour to attract enough employees. It may sound harsh, but the reality is if they can get enough workers at $10 an hour, they have no reason to offer $14 an hour.
Ramlady; you are right; it is harsh. Wish I had a magic wand to correct it! I have done so very well since moving out of that area. I keep working on my friends back in Indiana County. Some of them believe that EVERYPLACE is like Western PA. I can’t drag that horse to the watering hole, but I sure can nag at it! MAYBE…..it will work! Thank you for your dialogue!
Good luck Joanie. Don’t give up on them!! Keep showing them how well you are doing. Hope you stick around; I enjoyed the dialogue too!!
I dare Walmart NOT to raise prices of brand name products… Obviously cut back in profit from generics will translate into higher prices for the branded drugs… Few months after the introduction of this “”GENERIC” program few dollars here and there will be added to brand name to compensate the “Loss” due to generic program
The list is very limited. I just got it today. There are only 360 generic drugs on this list. But I do salute Walmart for having the balls to do what the government won’t, and that is to do something about the ever increasing costs of health care. So if you don’t like Walmart, fine, don’t shop there. Go somewhere else and pay full price for everything, including your medications.