Sam's Club expands discounted prescription program
Sam’s Club is expanding its prescription savings program to allow Plus and Business Plus members to save even more money through new benefits.
New savings on generic prescriptions, some of which are available free of charge or at a discounted cost of $4 or $10 at specified quantities, are now available in all Sam’s Club locations with pharmacies.
This new benefit is part of Sam’s Club Extra Value Drug List, through which Sam’s Club Plus and Business Plus members also receive 10-30% savings on select brand name medications.
“Sam’s Club is always looking for ways to help improve the health of our communities and provide exceptional value to our members,” said Jill Turner-Mitchael, senior vice president, Sam’s Club Health and Wellness. “That’s why we created an extensive list of prescriptions to offer at substantial savings to our Plus and Business Plus members, especially those who are under or uninsured. It’s part of our ongoing commitment to making health care more accessible and affordable.”
The free prescription initiative comes nearly a decade after Sam's parent company Walmart roiled the pharmacy world with the introduction of a flat rate pricing program that offered an extensive assortment of generics for $4 for a 30 day supply. Introduced in Florida in the fall of 2006, the program was quickly expanded nationwide and a $10 pricing tier was added the following year for a 90 day supply.
Other pharmacy retailers soon matched Walmart's approach or introduced their own variants of the discount program. To outflank Walmart some retailers such as Publix and Meijer went so far as to provide a limited assortment of commonly dispensed generics for free.
Members with an active Sam's Club Plus membership can use the prescription discount benefit by presenting their Plus membership card along with a valid prescription at participating Sam’s Club pharmacies.
According to a J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Pharmacy Study, Sam’s Club Pharmacy was ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Mass Merchandiser Pharmacies.”
Sam’s Club has 647 clubs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.