$4 drugs for real?

Wal-Mart expands plan to Utah; pharmacist group calls it a stunt

HOLLADAY — News that Wal-Mart now offers $4 generic prescriptions at its Utah stores did not seem to bother Gordon Hanks, owner and pharmacist at Holladay Pharmacy.

On Thursday, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced its 40 pharmacies in Utah would offer $4 pricing on 331 generic prescriptions ranging from antibiotics and cholesterol medications to cardiac and diabetes drugs.

But Wal-Mart's new pricing plan will have little impact on independent pharmacists, said Hanks, whose pharmacy dispenses about 500 prescriptions a day and has been around for 70 years.

"It's basically a marketing scheme. They are being very selective on which generics they are putting on their list," Hanks said. There are 8,700 generic prescription drugs approved by federal regulators. "Almost everything on that list is maintenance medication and very inexpensive. We all have to make some margin on all the really expensive drugs just to stay in business, and Wal-Mart's margin on the name brands is no different from anyone else's."

Wal-Mart on Thursday announced plans to expand the program in 11 states: Utah, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Washington and West Virginia. Wal-Mart stores in 38 states now offer the plan.

The $4 program covers generic prescriptions for up to a 30-day supply.

"These are commonly prescribed drugs," said Gerry Hassell, pharmacy district manager for Wal-Mart in Utah. "We estimate that this list of $4 prescription medications represents nearly one in four of all prescriptions that we currently dispense in our pharmacies across the nation."

The National Community Pharmacists Association criticized the news, calling the campaign a "PR stunt."

The association said that there are only about 150 different drugs of the 331 prescriptions offered under the $4 pricing plan. For example, there are 12 different versions of the antibiotic amoxicillin, the association said.

"Wal-Mart's original list included none of the generic statins used to treat high cholesterol," Bruce Roberts, NCPA executive vice president, said in a prepared statement. "After much criticism, the company added the oldest and weakest one and with one of the worst profiles for side effects. Patients deserve good care. Instead they are being used by Wal-Mart just to drive traffic to their stores."

However, for shoppers like Marie Knickrehm of Bountiful, the $4 generic pricing offers real savings over her prescription drug insurance plan, which typically involves a $10 to $50 co-pay. In addition, Knickrehm said she would likely shop at Wal-Mart over other retailers because of the new pricing plan.

Hassell said the $4 generic prescription program will provide a solution for more than 380,000 uninsured Utah residents, about 14 percent of all Utahns.

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