Wal-Mart's Discount Drug Program Goes Statewide in Florida

Oct. 5, 2006 — -- Wal-Mart said today it would offer more than 300 discounted generic prescription drugs throughout Florida starting on Oct. 6, months ahead of its previous plan to take the program statewide by January 2007.

Under the plan, Wal-Mart would sell a 30-day supply of certain generic prescription drugs for a flat fee of $4 per drug. Examples include the antibiotic Amoxicillin, the anti-inflammatory Naproxen and the anti-depressant Fluoxetine.

Wal-Mart started the pilot program two weeks ago in 65 Tampa, Fla., area stores. At that time, Wal-Mart said the low-price generic drug program would roll out slowly as the mega store gauged customer demand and ensured adequate staffing and supplies at the pharmacies.

Strong prescription drug sales in the days after the pilot program began, along with requests from Florida state officials, convinced the company to speed up the plan, according to a Wal-Mart spokesman.

Today's announcement came at a Wal-Mart store in Orlando, Fla., with Gov. Jeb Bush in attendance.

"Part of this is about saving these customers money, but even more important, it's about making sure they get the medicines they need to live healthier lives," CEO Lee Scott said in a prepared statement.

A day after the initial September announcement, Wal-Mart customer Christine Downing said the lower-priced drugs would make a "huge difference" and would save her family "hundreds of dollars."

Wal-Mart competitor Target quickly followed suit, announcing it would match Wal-Mart's prices.

But immediate reactions from other competitors were mixed. Walgreens and CVS -- which rank No. 1 and No. 2 in U.S. pharmacy sales -- dismissed the price cuts.

Matt Leonard, senior vice-president of pharmacy at CVS, said then that the drugs that Wal-Mart was offering "represented less than 10 percent of the more than 3,000 unique generic products that we stock."

Today Wal-Mart said customer response to the program was considerable. Executive Vice President Bill Simon told reporters on a conference call that in the first 10 days, Wal-Mart's pharmacies filled 36,000 new prescriptions. That represents four times the usual number of new prescriptions filled during a normal 10-day period, according to the company.

"Wal-Mart can play a unique role in responding to the needs of our customers who struggle for too long to pay for prescription medicines," Simon said.