Aug 7th, 2008
Can WalMart’s Prescription Drug Program Save You Money Even if You Have a Drug Plan?
WalMart made a splash some time ago with their prescription medication pharmacy. Since I work for a large health maintenance organization and have a pretty decent health plan, I haven’t paid a lot of attention; that said, I took another look this past weekend and was pleasantly surprised at what I found.
WalMart is currently pushing their drug program for generic medication as $4 for thirty days, $10 for ninety days. Even my health plan’s drug coverage–which is pretty darned decent–costs more, and by far: $10 for thirty days, $20 for ninety days, so we’re talking a savings that could be substantial on a percentage basis.
How many of my medications are on their list of available drugs? I currently take four prescription medications as well as aspirin; of the four, two are on the list, and one that I am on was a replacement for one I was previously on (the replacement wasn’t due to there being an issue with the medication, but rather due to a change in pharmacy formulary). So it seems to me that it’s quite possible that I could replace three of my four medications with those from WalMart. But what would the savings be?
Currently I pay $80 for those four medications per quarter, so $320 a year; I could possibly cut that down to $50 per quarter, or $200 a year. That does not take into account tax (I currently do not get taxed by the pharmacy used by my HMO) or travel (I get my medication mailed to me at no charge by my pharmacy currently). This is a potential savings of $120 a year, or more than 37 percent.
This clearly bears a bit more investigation, but it seems that even if you have a pretty decent drug plan with your health insurance, it’s possible that WalMart’s offerings can save you quite a few dollars.
i worked at the walmart pharmacy when they rolled this plan out a few years ago and it went over SO well. and they keep adding new drugs to the list, so it’s reaching more and more people. (i no longer work there, btw.)
[...] Uncommon Cents looks into using Wal-Mart’s generic drug plan to save money even though he has good prescription benefits from work [...]
[...] Uncommon Cents looks into using Wal-Mart’s generic drug plan to save money even though he has good prescription benefits from work [...]
[...] Uncommon Cents asks “Can WalMart’s Prescription Drug Program Save You Money Even if You Have a Drug Plan?” [...]
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