An article today in The New York Times, by Stephanie Saul, debates different reasons for the slowing of inflation in drugs cost.
One of the aspects she discusses is "the WalMart effect" which is the initiative that was launched last fall where many generic prescriptions were made available at a cost of $4 a month. Other stores such as Target, Kmart and other retailers quickly followed suit with similar offers.
"A Labor Department economist, Francisco Velez, said his office noted a drop in generic drug prices shortly after the large stores’ promotions began, particularly in the South, where Wal-Mart started its program. His colleague, Mr. Ginsburg, called the drop in prices for generic drugs “dramatic.” Wal-Mart and other large chain stores make up 15 to 20 percent of the pharmacies that the government surveys for the index."
While currently WalMart offers less than 350 generic drugs it recently announced that it would be making 2,400 available to its employees and is expect to make an announcement regarding an expanded generic drug program for the general public.
For more reasons that maybe effecting the slowing in the inflation of drug prices read the full article: Helped by Generics, Inflation of Drug Costs Slows
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