Arkansas Business
3/14/2008
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville said Friday that its $4 prescription drug program has saved Americans more than $1 billion, including Arkansas customers about $32.7 million.
Dr. John Agwunobi, Wal-Mart's senior vice president and president of health and wellness, is set to unveil those figures and more in an address to the Council of Teaching Hospitals in New Orleans later on Friday.
Wal-Mart has more information on the savings, including a state-by-state breakdown, here.
Wal-Mart is measuring the savings from when the program launched in September 2006 to March 10.
"While $1 billion in savings is an astonishing achievement, the real savings to America - and its health care system - are even larger. That's because many of our competitors have also lowered their prices," Agwunobi will say, according to his prepared remarks. "[Four dollar] prescriptions now represent approximately 40 percent of all filled prescriptions at Wal-Mart. Nearly 30 percent of $4 prescriptions are filled without insurance - significantly higher than the 10 percent industry trend."
Wal-Mart began the program in 2006, testing it in several markets before rolling it out nationwide. It added it in Arkansas in October 2006. The retailer also added several drugs to its list of $4 products. The move prompted many of Wal-Mart's competitors, including Target, to create similar plans.
The $4 prescription program covers most commonly treated medical conditions.
When the new Wal-Mart Supercenter opened in Columbia earlier this fall, it provided job opportunities for more than 200 people...
