The Archives of Internal Medicine (AIM) released a study examining the impact of generic drug discount programs at retail pharmacies.  The authors note that large retailers such as Wal-Mart, Inc. and Target Corporation offer generic drug discount programs regardless of individuals’ health coverage, providing generic drugs for $4 per 30-day supply or $10 per 90-day supply.  For 2007, the authors estimate that if all eligible individuals enrolled in the discount programs, national health expenditures would have been reduced by $5.8 billion, or 2.5 percent.

 Zhang, Y., Zhou, L., and Gellad, W. (2011). Potential savings from greater use of $4 generic drugs. Archives of Internal Medicine, 171(5):468-469. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.46. http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/171/5/468 

Authors: Yuting Zhang, Lei Zhou, and Walid F. Gellad