Wal-mart to slash price of many prescription drugs to $4

[Little Texan]

On one hand, it's a cool thing for them to do. On the other hand, they may be trying to monopolize the pharmaceutical industry as they've tried to monopolize other things.

Prescription for Price Cuts
Wal-Mart plans to slash the cost of 291 generic drugs to $4 beginning today in Florida.
By Daniel Yi and Alana Semuels, Times Staff Writers
September 22, 2006


Wal-Mart Stores Inc. shook the multibillion-dollar prescription drug market Thursday with a plan to slash prices on hundreds of the most common generic drugs to $4 per prescription.

The world's largest retailer said it would kick off its plan today at 65 Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores in Florida's Tampa Bay area. The company said it expected to roll out the program to "as many states as possible by next year."

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The announcement brought praise from consumer advocates, skepticism from Wal-Mart critics, support from potential customers and a major sell-off of drugstore stocks on Wall Street, as analysts predicted price-cutting industrywide.

Wal-Mart officials did not say when the program might reach California, where it has nearly 200 stores. But residents were pleased at the prospect.

"This should be a help," said Lee Anderson, a 94-year-old Baldwin Hills resident sitting in a Wal-Mart waiting for his prescriptions to be filled. "With my small income, the cost of drugs is pretty high right now."

"That's a heck of a bargain," said Michelle Clemons, another Baldwin Hills resident who said she might start buying her medications at Wal-Mart rather than at a local pharmacy.

Consumer advocates concerned about rising prescription drug prices were optimistic.

"We think it's about time, and we hope other pharmacies follow suit," said Ron Lui, a San Francisco-based senior attorney for Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports magazine. "A lot of consumers don't realize that generics are often the best option, and with Wal-Mart doing this, it might help get the word out."

Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization based in Santa Monica, said, "Hopefully this will make prices more competitive for consumers."

But he added, "It's hard to know how the program is going to be implemented, and the devil is in the details."

Wal-Mart listed 291 generic drugs that would be sold at $4 per prescription in the Tampa stores. The price is generally for a 30-day supply of the medicine — or smaller quantities of drugs for short-term use.

Company officials did not estimate overall savings but cited some individual examples of drugs that would be priced at $4. A 30-day supply of Lisinopril (10 milligrams), a blood-pressure-lowering drug on the list, now retails for $11.98 at its stores. Metformin (500 milligrams), which treats high blood sugar in diabetics, retails for $7.85 for a 30-day supply.

The company said consumers would generally save less than a dollar to several dollars per prescription, depending on the drug.

Many items on the list were for different doses of the same medicine, and the list did not include some of the most popular prescription drugs such as cholesterol-lowering statins.

Competitors were quick to point out that the plan was less sweeping than it might first appear. Walgreen Co. spokesman Michael Polzin said the 291 drugs on Wal-Mart's list represent only a small fraction of the 1,800 or so generics available at Walgreens pharmacies.

"This has made a lot of big headlines, but in reality I don't think it is going to have a significant impact," he said. "We doubt this will drive individual patient behavior."

In addition, the $4 price tag may not be a major bargain for consumers with prescription drug discount plans who already are getting lower-priced drugs.

Generic drugs, which have the same active ingredients as brand-name medicines but cost substantially less, have gained ground in recent years.

Industry experts expect Wal-Mart's move to accelerate the trend and bring drug prices down further as other distributors, such as pharmacy chains and mail-order companies, try to compete with the company.

"It is really going to change the industry. It is not going to happen overnight, but it will happen," said Ed Kaplan, an analyst with Segal Co., a benefits consultant in New York. "Wal-Mart is willing to take a real low [profit] margin" and that will increase price competition, he said.

Investors seemed to take notice Thursday. Share prices for pharmacy chains dropped across the board. CVS Corp. closed $2.96 lower, or 8.4%, at $32.46. Walgreen Co. dropped $3.67, or 7.4%, to $46.28. Wal-Mart shares fell nearly 1% to $48.46, a drop of 41 cents.

Industry observers noted that slashing prescription drug prices would probably increase traffic at Wal-Mart stores and lead to higher sales of other merchandise.

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In addition, the lower prices will be available to employees of participating Wal-Mart stores, the company said. And this will help boost the company's corporate image, said Bernard Sosnick, a stock analyst with Oppenheimer & Co. who follows Wal-Mart.

The company has been under fire from labor activists and political leaders who say Wal-Mart offers little in the way of health benefits to its employees.

"Now Wal-Mart is helping people who can't afford drugs buy them," said Sosnick, who is bullish on the stock. "Does this make me more enthusiastic about how the company is changing? Absolutely."

One of the company's major critics, WakeUpWalmart.com, suggested that the hype surrounding the announcement overlooked the company's weaknesses in healthcare, such as the fact that more than half of its employees are uninsured.

"Wal-Mart needs to answer one very simple but serious question — why not just improve the healthcare coverage of its employees?" campaign director Paul Blank said in a statement released Thursday. "Sadly, this prescription drug initiative will not insure one additional Wal-Mart employee, one uninsured child or reduce the billions of cost for taxpayers."

WakeUpWalmart.com, which is supported by the United Food and Commercial Workers union, is an organization with more than 250,000 members.

On Thursday, Wal-Mart downplayed any business strategies.

"This is not about bringing more people into our stores," said Bill Simon, a Wal-Mart executive vice president. "Our intent is to offer relief to our associates and customers who need that relief" from high drug prices.

Simon said Wal-Mart would expand the program incrementally as it gauged customer response. He declined to elaborate on how Wal-Mart could afford the discounts but said the company was not losing money on the venture.

High prices have driven many Americans to import less-expensive prescription drugs from Canada and other nations despite regulations against this practice. But lawmakers are considering changing these rules.

On Thursday, House Republicans agreed to support a proposal pending in Congress that would prohibit U.S. Customs agents from seizing small quantities of prescription drugs that Americans buy in Canada and try to take home.


Link (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-walmart22sep22,0,3243509.story?page=1)

[CROWBAR]

fuck walmart! Go to Tijuana.

[POJO_Risin]

I think Target is doing the same thing...announced today...not sure though...

[DrMaddVibe]

Yeah...Target is following suit.

Whomever came up with this is a marketing genius! How many people do you see coming out of either one of those with just a little pill bag?


CHA-CHING!

[Little Texan]

It's not going to help my mom, though. She has high cholesterol, and the generic Zocor she buys costs her out the ass every month. I think she said she pays like $120 for a month's supply of that shit. The drug companies are fucking people in the ass, hard! Too bad this new deal doesn't apply to some of the more expensive medications. I was on Prozac, once, and I quit buying it because it was $85 a month...I couldn't afford the shit!

[FORD]

Originally posted by Little Texan
It's not going to help my mom, though. She has high cholesterol, and the generic Zocor she buys costs her out the ass every month. I think she said she pays like $120 for a month's supply of that shit. The drug companies are fucking people in the ass, hard! Too bad this new deal doesn't apply to some of the more expensive medications. I was on Prozac, once, and I quit buying it because it was $85 a month...I couldn't afford the shit!

Try 5-HTP instead of Prozac. It's cheaper, no side effects, all natural, and works as well or probably better than any pharmaceutical product.

And here's some info for your mom....

The following list includes natural products that have been noted to reduce cholesterol levels through research:

* B Vitamins, besides niacin, decrease the rate at which LDL is damaged through oxidation.
* Carnitine has been seen to increase HDL levels, therefore decreasing total cholesterol levels.
* Chromium has been seen to reduce LDL levels and increase HDL levels.
* Coenzyme Q10 has been noted to reduce total cholesterol serum levels.
* Fiber can be obtained through fiber supplements or through foods such as whole grains and vegetables. It is thought that fiber binds to cholesterol in the small intestine and preventing cholesterol absorption into the bloodstream.
* Garlic has been widely studies for its cholesterol-lowering properties.
* Grape Seed Extract has been noted to reduce total cholesterol serum levels.
* Pantothine has been seen to increase HDL levels, therefore decreasing total cholesterol levels.
* Red yeast rice contains a natural form of lovastatin. Effective natural product for cholesterol control. Included in Native Remedies Cholesto-Rite capsules.
* Royal Jelly has been seen to lower cholesterol levels by reducing some of the cholesterol-elevating effects of nicotine.
* Soy has been shown to reduce total cholesterol levels
* Vitamin C has been noted to slightly reduce cholesterol levels.


All of those natural supplements can probably be found in your local health food store.

[4moreyears]

Originally posted by FORD
Try 5-HTP instead of Prozac. It's cheaper, no side effects, all natural, and works as well or probably better than any pharmaceutical product.

And here's some info for your mom....

The following list includes natural products that have been noted to reduce cholesterol levels through research:

* B Vitamins, besides niacin, decrease the rate at which LDL is damaged through oxidation.
* Carnitine has been seen to increase HDL levels, therefore decreasing total cholesterol levels.
* Chromium has been seen to reduce LDL levels and increase HDL levels.
* Coenzyme Q10 has been noted to reduce total cholesterol serum levels.
* Fiber can be obtained through fiber supplements or through foods such as whole grains and vegetables. It is thought that fiber binds to cholesterol in the small intestine and preventing cholesterol absorption into the bloodstream.
* Garlic has been widely studies for its cholesterol-lowering properties.
* Grape Seed Extract has been noted to reduce total cholesterol serum levels.
* Pantothine has been seen to increase HDL levels, therefore decreasing total cholesterol levels.
* Red yeast rice contains a natural form of lovastatin. Effective natural product for cholesterol control. Included in Native Remedies Cholesto-Rite capsules.
* Royal Jelly has been seen to lower cholesterol levels by reducing some of the cholesterol-elevating effects of nicotine.
* Soy has been shown to reduce total cholesterol levels
* Vitamin C has been noted to slightly reduce cholesterol levels.


All of those natural supplements can probably be found in your local health food store.

I have to say Ford that was a very cool thing for you to do!!! :D

[LoungeMachine]

Funny how Wal-Mart can do what the Republican Congress/Administration forbade the US Government [Medicare] from doing.....

Using the clout from its massive buying power to negotiate better bulk deals for its consumers......

Why is that?

[rustoffa]

Fucking Wal Mart.....

Hang onto yer hats folks, the fuckers in Bentonville are keeping their trucks on the ground, and reaching for _ _ _ ____________.

That's right, they're laying the groundwork for ONE-STOP-BARCODING.:rolleyes:

Forget about my alarmist crap though, it is what it is.

THE one thing you want to avoid is the online prescription clearing joints. Alberta Canada eh?

"Honey, I don't think these AMBIENS from Canada are the real deal....I sat up all night watching the NFL channel....on top of that, I think I've got a fever!!"

[Little Texan]

Kmart and Target join the fray...


Kmart touts drug program as Wal-Mart starts plan

CHICAGO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Discount chain Kmart on Friday touted a $5-per-month generic drug plan it has offered since May as it faces a new, less expensive offer from market leader Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research)

Wal-Mart's plan, which began in the Tampa Bay, Florida area on Friday, covers 291 drugs at $4 per prescription. It was quickly matched by Target Corp. (TGT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the No. 2 U.S. discount retail chain.

But Kmart stood by its existing plan, which offers a 90-day supply of selected generic drugs for $15. Kmart said its plan covers more than 185 medications and is expanding.

The company said that, while Kmart shoppers will pay $1 more per month for generic prescriptions, they only have to go to the pharmacy once every three months and can save money in gasoline costs for each trip to the store.



But such a move could also hinder Kmart's sales. Consumers who drop off prescriptions at large stores tend to pick up other items while they wait for them to be filled.

A spokeswoman for Kmart, which is owned by Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD.O: Quote, Profile, Research), declined to provide any sales figures.

Kmart's program is offered at 1,100 pharmacies across the United States, while Wal-Mart's program is currently available at 65 stores. It is set to expand to all of Florida in January and then to other states.



© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

Link (http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2006-09-22T165246Z_01_N22196386_RTRIDST_0_RETAIL-KMART-WALMART.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna)

[FORD]

I'm holding out for Costco. Not that I take pharmaceuticals unless life absolutely depends on it. Which is very rarely, if you do the research.

[FORD]

Originally posted by 4moreyears
I have to say Ford that was a very cool thing for you to do!!! :D

I always do cool things like that. It's my firm belief that the poisons people put in their bodies are not only NOT curing them, but making them sicker in most cases.

[ThrillsNSpills]

Originally posted by FORD
I always do cool things like that. It's my firm belief that the poisons people put in their bodies are not only NOT curing them, but making them sicker in most cases.

Listen to FORD here people,
he's right on the money.
The fact that these pharmaceuticals are being advertised directly to the masses should disturb people....

[Little Texan]

Originally posted by FORD
It's my firm belief that the poisons people put in their bodies are not only NOT curing them, but making them sicker in most cases.

There is some truth to that. I think my mom said she was about to get off of Zocor because the side effects are making her miserable, and of course because of the outrageous cost. I'll pass that along to her about the natural cholesterol lowering alternatives you listed. Thanks! As far as the Prozac, I don't think I need it, anymore, and didn't really need it then since it was a doctor's misdiagnosis. He diagnosed me with panic attacks, and I know damn well that's not what it was. If I ever do get down in the dumps, I have some St. John's Wort in the cabinent I'm going to try. Fuck Prozac...that shit fries your brain from what I've read on the internet, and the side effects are worse than the depression you're trying to treat, but such is the case with most prescription drugs.

[MAPRamone]

Originally posted by FORD
I always do cool things like that. It's my firm belief that the poisons people put in their bodies are not only NOT curing them, but making them sicker in most cases.
I'm a pharmacy student and i don't really agree. The stuff you get from your pharmacy works through chemical pathways and so does the stuff
from your health store. ALL chemicals, even water, have toxic effects if taken in high enough doses. The stuff you get from the health store has fewer side effects because it's less potent. There IS some truth to what you're saying though. The pharmaceutical products people take do have many nasty side effects but that doesn't prove that pharmaceuticals are evil. I think the main problem is that people have come to rely on drugs too much and have come to believe there's a pill for every health problem. This has lead to people neglecting their own responsibility in maintaining a proper diet and getting enough exercise and taking care of their own health. If your diet consists of burgers and fries don't whine about the side effects of the cholesterol drugs you have to take as a result, you brought it on yourself! While i don't fully agree with you, i do believe your attitude is healthier than that of a person who believes that there's a pill for every ailment. Pharmaceuticals are powerful stuff! You should be scared of them! They're not candy! Sorry for the incoherence. I'm completely wasted as i type this!:D

[Dr. Love]

Originally posted by MAPRamone
I'm a pharmacy student and i don't really agree. The stuff you get from your pharmacy works through chemical pathways and so does the stuff
from your health store. ALL chemicals, even water, have toxic effects if taken in high enough doses. The stuff you get from the health store has fewer side effects because it's less potent. There IS some truth to what you're saying though. The pharmaceutical products people take do have many nasty side effects but that doesn't prove that pharmaceuticals are evil. I think the main problem is that people have come to rely on drugs too much and have come to believe there's a pill for every health problem. This has lead to people neglecting their own responsibility in maintaining a proper diet and getting enough exercise and taking care of their own health. If your diet consists of burgers and fries don't whine about the side effects of the cholesterol drugs you have to take as a result, you brought it on yourself! While i don't fully agree with you, i do believe your attitude is healthier than that of a person who believes that there's a pill for every ailment. Pharmaceuticals are powerful stuff! You should be scared of them! They're not candy! Sorry for the incoherence. I'm completely wasted as i type this!:D

You must be new. Never use logic if you want to convince FORD.

Try making up a harder to belive conspiracy theory, that usually does the trick.

[ThrillsNSpills]

Originally posted by Dr. Love
You must be new. Never use logic if you want to convince FORD.

Try making up a harder to belive conspiracy theory, that usually does the trick.

The FDA shuts down alternative treatments and is in cohoots with the pharmaceutical company, who is a money hungry monopoly designed to get people to ingest more pharmaceuticals, and just typing this can get someone storming through the door to shoot me for telling you.

How was that?

Why are we being advertised "medicine." Wouldn't the doctor know which is best for our "disease"? Why are cheap inexpensive remedies not allowed or even tested by the FDA?
Because they are not profitable.
But I can't complain, because in some places suppliments are illegal? Wonder why that is...:mad:


A chemical isn't more toxic at high doses. Your body can't throw it off. They are toxic at any dose and get stored in your fat cells. It's like saying , well one cigarette is good for me because I don't keel over.

(this is all just an example)
(it's too crazy to be true)

Doctors are Gods, after all.

[ThrillsNSpills]

Someone's at my door.





:elvis:


:fu:



:rockit2:

[CROWBAR]

crowbar says "stay tha fuck away from scrip"!

would you really let some pharmaceutical company control your destiny?

I can't stand all the bullshit "You need this, You need that scrip" commercials today!

Makes you feel like a junkie

[ThrillsNSpills]

Yes of course.

Look at it.

You got a zillion chemicals on the market to "balance" you.
All of them have side effects, so you're into one for a couple years, then you get another one to balance those addtional side effects.
2 years later you're posting like BobGnote.


You go to the doctor to get better, right? With all these variables we haven't even broached the possibility that you get a Shit Doctor with a God complex who's head is too far up his ass to know he's flawed. You pay to get made worse.

The only way we'll get better is to educate ourselves.
Did you ever laugh at the side effects at the end of the pill ads that they say real fast.
You are basically trading ONE problem for many many others down the line.

[4moreyears]

Originally posted by FORD
I always do cool things like that. It's my firm belief that the poisons people put in their bodies are not only NOT curing them, but making them sicker in most cases.

The drug companies are a bunch of assholes. They make more money selling drugs that cure your symptoms that you have to re take over and over than those cure your disease after taking it for a short period of time.

[4moreyears]

Originally posted by LoungeMachine
Funny how Wal-Mart can do what the Republican Congress/Administration forbade the US Government [Medicare] from doing.....

Using the clout from its massive buying power to negotiate better bulk deals for its consumers......

Why is that?

Business should take care of this not regulation from Government.

[LoungeMachine]

Originally posted by 4moreyears
Business should take care of this not regulation from Government.

Yeah, no kidding....

So much for Repukes being for "smaller government" :rolleyes:


Why do you guys keep voting against your own interest?

[FORD]

What Business "should" take care of and what they WILL take care of are entirely two different things.

Houston Texas surpassed Los Angeles as America's most polluted city under the administration of Governor George Bush Jr.

The fact that Governor Chimpy allowed business to "voluntarily comply" with environmental standards was the main reason.

None of them did.

Pharmaceutical companies operate in the same way, especially the greed of their prices, and the recklessness of not publicizing the dangers of the poisons they market as "cures".

In reality, most if not all drugs do nothing to cure the disease, they only alleviate the symptoms temporarily. And in any case they NEVER deal with the root cause of the illness. Of course the doctors should be taking care of that part, but it's become the entire corporatized medicine culture for the doctor to do a brief examination, write a prescription and then let the insurance companies deal with the rest of it.

Makes you wonder if anyone's truly healthy out there.......

[MAPRamone]

Originally posted by ThrillsNSpills



A chemical isn't more toxic at high doses. Your body can't throw it off. They are toxic at any dose and get stored in your fat cells. It's like saying , well one cigarette is good for me because I don't keel over.

(this is all just an example)
(it's too crazy to be true)

Doctors are Gods, after all.

" A chemical isn't more toxic in high doses" ??? WTF???

You've never heard of "Dosage makes the poison"?
ALL chemicals have doses above which toxic effects will appear and conversely below which they won't. There is no special class of compounds which are safe at any dose.

[MAPRamone]

Originally posted by FORD



And in any case they NEVER deal with the root cause of the illness.

Wow what a theory!!!:eek:

So according to you NO illness ever gets cured! EVER!

[SparkieD]

Originally posted by FORD
In reality, most if not all drugs do nothing to cure the disease, they only alleviate the symptoms temporarily. And in any case they NEVER deal with the root cause of the illness.

Will you still say that if you get a mean staph infection or a case of meningitis?

Or try telling that to the folks who have eaten bad spinach lately.

[rustoffa]

Originally posted by MAPRamone
" A chemical isn't more toxic in high doses" ??? WTF???

You've never heard of "Dosage makes the poison"?
ALL chemicals have doses above which toxic effects will appear and conversely below which they won't. There is no special class of compounds which are safe at any dose.

Great post dude. Are you a chemical engineer? This fucker I went to school with is. He works for AKZO. I've challenged him on more than one occasion regarding jimson weed.

Anyways, did you know that motherfuckers in Bangladesh have knocked pancreatic cancer off the map with invasive Dianabol treatment?

No film at eleven.:(

[FORD]

Originally posted by SparkieD
Will you still say that if you get a mean staph infection or a case of meningitis?

Or try telling that to the folks who have eaten bad spinach lately.

A viral or bacterial infection which can be stopped with anti-biotics is completely different than the pharmaceuticals being pushed on TV from evertyhing from depression to toenail fungus

As for ecoli bacteria being present in spinach, or as it was previously in beef, that's just another example of big business being sloppy to cut costs and the regulating body (the FDA in this case) being so corrupted by corporate influence that they fail to do their jobs. It's the same principle..... When the almighty dollar is more important than public safety, the people get screwed every time. From drugs, to food, to gas prices, to the quagmire in Iraq, it's all the same story.

[Dr. Love]

Originally posted by ThrillsNSpills
The FDA shuts down alternative treatments and is in cohoots with the pharmaceutical company, who is a money hungry monopoly designed to get people to ingest more pharmaceuticals, and just typing this can get someone storming through the door to shoot me for telling you.

How was that?

Why are we being advertised "medicine." Wouldn't the doctor know which is best for our "disease"? Why are cheap inexpensive remedies not allowed or even tested by the FDA?
Because they are not profitable.
But I can't complain, because in some places suppliments are illegal? Wonder why that is...:mad:


A chemical isn't more toxic at high doses. Your body can't throw it off. They are toxic at any dose and get stored in your fat cells. It's like saying , well one cigarette is good for me because I don't keel over.

(this is all just an example)
(it's too crazy to be true)

Doctors are Gods, after all.

Needs more BCE.

[4moreyears]

Originally posted by MAPRamone
Wow what a theory!!!:eek:

So according to you NO illness ever gets cured! EVER!

I agree with Ford. Drug companies make more money treating symptoms than they do curing disease. Where to you think they will spend their dollars.

[LoungeMachine]

Originally posted by 4moreyears
I agree with Ford.


My bad. I must've clicked on Bizarro-World-Army by mistake

[4moreyears]

Originally posted by LoungeMachine
My bad. I must've clicked on Bizarro-World-Army by mistake

Trust me...I felt the same way typing it.

[FORD]

Keep doing your research, and you might find out that FORD's right about some other things too ;)

[ULTRAMAN VH]

Read Charles Fishman's book, The Walmart Effect. It is a chilling account of what kind of power Walmart has accrued.

[Little Texan]

Originally posted by ULTRAMAN VH
Read Charles Fishman's book, The Walmart Effect. It is a chilling account of what kind of power Walmart has accrued.

This isn't Sam Walton's Wal-Mart, that's for damn sure! Wal-Mart has become a monster that is swallowing everything up in it's wake!

[FORD]

Originally posted by ULTRAMAN VH
Read Charles Fishman's book, The Walmart Effect. It is a chilling account of what kind of power Walmart has accrued.

Yet you continue to vote for the people who think that's OK?

Without so many Republican-appointed corporatist judges on the bench, Wal Mart, the oil companies, Pharmaceutical giants, and the Whore Media, (among others) would have been busted up by antitrust rulings years ago. Instead, the corporations just get bigger and bigger. And fewer, as they merge.

Which leads to no competition whatsoever, rendering the allegedly sacred conservative principle of a "free market" to be totally useless.