Wal-Mart says its pharmacies in eleven more states will begin participating in the retailer's $4 generic prescription program starting immediately.
In addition, the company announced that it is adding 17 more prescriptions to the program.
Stores in Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia, and Washington were added to the program, which kicked off in Florida in September. The discounted generics are now available in 3,009 pharmacies in 38 states.
In making the announcement, Bill Simon, executive vice president of Wal-Mart's Professional Services Division, said that the $4 generics program now includes 331 generic prescriptions available for up to a 30-day supply at commonly prescribed dosages.
According to RxList.com, the list also includes 14 of the top 20 prescribed medications in the United States. The list is made up of as many as 143 compounds in 26 therapeutic categories.
Generic medicines generally cost between 30 percent and 60 percent less than equivalent brand-name products, and Wal-Mart estimates that its list of $4 generic prescriptions represents more than one in four of the prescriptions currently dispensed in its pharmacies nationwide.
To date, as new states have been added to the program, 2.1 million more new prescriptions have been filled in those states as compared to the same time periods last year.
