kingfisher241049

http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=5443509&nav=0RbQ

This is a step in the right direction, but its only for generic drugs. Thankfully Florida residents will be getting these cheap drugs before the rest of the country, and other outlets have announced they are following Wal-Marts lead too. I can look forward to visiting my doctor for a change and getting some cheap prescriptions.

scrubbedexpat097

It sounds good but remember they only have a limited number on there list and also if your doc wants you on a new type of med it wont be generic for quite a few years.

Every little bit helps though!

kingfisher241049

Here's the list

TouristTrap

Wonder if they're importing them from Brazil or India.

Dan725

Not having any ailments and therefore never buying these drugs, whats the big deal between generic and brand name, anyway?

It's not like you get style points for taking them and they all look the same, so who cares if you get generic or not?

Ray

The price ..... Newer drugs are not available as generic for a long time ...

Elvira

To be available generic, a drug has to be out of patent. So this rules out any new and *potentially* more advanced medications.

Often, generics are only availble in basic forms, i.e. not slow-release or other easier to take forms. Also, single compounds only - usually no fixed combinations, which can be a bind for people who have to take lots of meds.

Some medications are unlikely to ever be available as generics, even when off patent, because they are too expensive to produce.

But if there is an easy generic substitute for a drug you're taking, definitely worth going for. But a lot of people still buy expensive Aleve or Mortim, even though generic naproxen and ibuprofen cost half as much. Not sure whether they just don't know or don't trust the generic versions.

Elvira

Looks very basic, but at least it's a start...

Dan725

I think that's the case with a lot of things here. As I see it, it just means the marketing man has done his job well.

Baby formula is the other one that springs to mind for being a notorious rip off - Walmart brand is $11.88 a can, wheras brand name is $21.88 a can. Looking on the back of both, the nutritional content is exactly the same, down to the last 0.001 of an ounce. Both have to adhere to very strict FDA standards, and the manufacturers of both have been around 70+years or more.

The difference in price is purely down to marketing, both for its expense and for it seeming "better" to your average non researcher.

Elvira

Of course it is. And the generic version may well have been produced by a subsidiary of the brand-name manufacturer...

ladylisa

My Doctor told me that one of the differences between named brand and generic is that named brand drugs have to be within 10% of the stated dose where as generic have a 20% leeway. Hence if you taking something like thyroid drugs sometimes it pays to get the brand drugs because some patients need to have an exact amount of the drug but other drugs its not so important.

Ash UK/US

I am all for saving money! however I have yet to find a generic formula that dissolves as well as Enfamil... even other brand names (Good Start) are not as good.

Good for walmart, although give it a few weeks and it will be another excuse to bash wally world for putting other pharmacies out of business. I just need meijers or target to follow suit now.

Ash

commoner

Back in 2002 when I lived and worked in the US, my insurance covered generics as priority over brand name drugs.

If the pharmacy was out of the generics, the insurance covered the cost of the brand name drugs. If I just wanted the brand namers, I had to pay for them myself.

Good on Walmart for actually doing something worthwhile for a change. Driving to the nearest Wally World is cheaper than going north or south of the border for most people.