BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Although Target Stores and Kroger Co. have followed WalMart's lead with a $4 generic drug program, not all retailers have followed suit.
Walgreen Co. and CVS Caremark Corp., for example, offer discount programs but have avoided a specific $4 promise. Walgreens, for example, provides a 90-day pill plan for $12.99.
Likewise, Costco Wholesale Corp. was among the first to match the Wal-Mart discounts in September 2006, but since then it changed the plan to one providing a 100-pill prescription for $10. Costco officials reportedly changed the strategy because of such factors as labor costs, overhead, packaging and record-keeping requirements.
But Wal-Mart continues to publicize its program, not only for the financial benefits that the retailer has reaped but also for the way the $4 generic drug program has both reduced the cost of health care and improved the health of many of those who have taken advantage of it: With the lower prices, people are more inclined to have their prescriptions filled or refilled as well as to comply with dosage recommendations and are thus less likely to depend on the need for emergency room treatments and, in more severe cases, hospitalizations.
