Wal-Mart rolls out $4 prescription drugs
Attention, Wal-Mart shoppers: Buying prescription drugs is about to get cheaper in Tampa. Under a new program, Wal-Mart customers in that area will be able to buy nearly 300 generic drugs for just $4 for a 30-day supply. Wal-Mart said it plans to offer the deal to all Floridians and in other states next year.
Patients will pay the low rate for typical dosages of many common medications, including the antibiotic amoxicillin, the asthma drug albuterol, metformin, which is taken by many diabetics, and fluoxetine, the generic version of the antidepressant Prozac. Savings will vary depending on the medication. Thirty 20-milligram tablets of fluoxetine cost $15.99 at drugstore.com, for example, while a 30-day supply of amoxicillin costs $7.99.
Buying generic drugs when possible is generally a smart move. Generics, which contain the same active ingredient as the brand-name drug, typically cost 30 to 80 percent less, says Andrea Hofelich, a spokesperson for the Generic Pharmaceutical Association.
"Generic medications are cost effective, and they provide the same medication and result at lower cost," she says.
The program is available to both insured and uninsured patients. Customers must buy their prescriptions in person at one of 65 Tampa-area Wal-Mart, Neighborhood Market, or Sam's Club pharmacies. At this time, mail-order prescriptions won't be accepted.
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