WOONSOCKET, R.I., Sept. 22 (UPI) -- In the wake of this week's surprise Wal-Mart plan to slash prices of many generic drugs, CVS downplayed the plan's value to consumers.
Wal-Mart, struggling to revive its flagging image on healthcare, announced Thursday it would offer 291 generic drugs at its pharmacies for as little as $4 for a month's supply.
However, Matt Leonard, senior vice president of pharmacy at competing drugstore chain CVS, issued a statement Friday saying, "These 300 drugs are all older generics that already have lower reimbursement rates from health plans. They represent less than 10 percent of the more than 3,000 unique generic products that we stock. Cash sales of these products amount to less than one-half of one percent of our total pharmacy sales."
Leonard added, "For customers who have prescription coverage, the average generic co-pay is relatively nominal. For example, the generic co-pay for Medicare prescription drug plans is typically $5. Furthermore, under many health plans, the price paid by the consumer for some of these drugs is actually less than $4."
He said CVS/pharmacy "has always provided its customers with very competitive pricing, better access, more convenient neighborhood locations and more 24-hour and extended-hour stores, a combination that other competitors can't match."
