Special delivery: Walmart expands mail offering
Walmart has expanded a mail-order prescription drug program to 22 additional states and some major urban areas, where it lacks a physical presence, after experimenting with the concept in Michigan earlier this year.
The program enables customers to receive a 90-day supply of approximately 300 generics for $10 via free mail delivery and is the latest extension of Walmart’s generic pricing initiative that began three years ago when the company introduced its $4 generic pricing program. In addition, customers in the affected states also can receive roughly 3,000 other drugs via free mail delivery. The program is available to customers at states in the Midwest and the Northeast, but a national rollout is likely based on Walmart’s track record of expanding its pharmacy initiatives.
“Americans deserve access to quality, affordable health care and medications, yet some families today aren’t filling prescriptions because of high costs or lack of health insurance,” said Dr. John Agwunobi, SVP and president of Walmart’s health and wellness division. “Walmart strives to find innovative new pharmacy solutions that better serve all of our customers’ needs, which is why we’re so excited to offer this program to even more Americans. With this program, we’re able to provide our customers in every rural town or big city across the Midwest and Northeast with more affordable prescription medicines through a convenient, free mail delivery system.”
The company added that its program has no gimmicks, no memberships and no enrollment fees and signals its commitment to help people save money on prescriptions regardless of whether they live close to a Walmart pharmacy location.
States affected by expansion of the Michigan mail order program include: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington DC, West Virginia and Wisconsin.