I wonder how many and what kind of decisions are made by poll results.
I have never been asked to participate in any kind of poll.
Here is an article that says a consumer poll in Florida shows that the Wal-Mart $4.00 prescription plan for generic drugs is not being received positively. It goes on to state that consumers perceive it to be a bait and switch tactic.
I am a customer of the Wal-Mart pharmacy. I use it because of the convenience. I usually call my prescriptions in late at night. I punch in a few numbers and pick up my order the next day. If my scrip has run out they call my doctor.
I have a couple of meds that are generics; one costs $23.00 the other $28.00. I picked them up the other day and it was four bucks apiece. No paperwork, no questions asked. To me, that is a significant savings every month.
Maybe I am the oddball and the plan doesn’t work for most people. Maybe the poll is a crock.
Watermang wrote,
I have heard that Wal-Mart offers the $4 prescription plan on only about 300 of the approximately 8700 generic drugs currently available. On the other hand, Wal-Mart claims that the drugs they do cover in the plan include the most commonly prescribed drugs for some of this country’s most common illnesses.
It seems you are able to work the system to your advantage, and my guess is that you’re not the only one. Good for you!
Wal-Mart receives a lot of criticism because of their lack of health benefits for part-time employees, but I think that Wal-Mart fills a necessary void by being able to hire from the pool of workers who can’t find work anywhere else, giving them a chance to get on their feet. It’s possible that the consumer poll you referred to is merely reflecting a generally negative attitude in that part of the country towards anything associated with Wal-Mart.
Link | November 21st, 2006 at 9:11 pm
Stacey wrote,
I heard that the four dollar deal is one time only. But that could just be rumor. And of course, they don’t cover either of the two very expensive medications that I take.
I’m glad it worked out for you! Let me know if it’s only $4 next month too. I’m curious.
Link | November 21st, 2006 at 9:45 pm
Pribek wrote,
A couple of things here. First I intended to include a link to the article that cites the poll in question. The link is now up. Also, the poll was conducted by the National Community Pharmacists Association who are independent pharmacies or chains and folks who would rather see Wal-Mart out of the drug biz. So, there are some P.R. tactics being employed on both sides. On one hand if you went to Wal-Mart to get a scrip and your drug was not included in the plan you might feel that it was a bait and switch tactic. On the other hand I wonder how many people knew there are 8,700 generic drugs and that Wal-Mart was only discounting 300 without the N.C.P.A. conducting polls and issuing their own press releases to counter media manipulation.
Wal-Mart is an easy target and I could come up with a list of things that I object to but, I can’t recall too many times I went to get drugs and came home with money in my pocket.
Link | November 22nd, 2006 at 12:33 am
Jayne d'Arcy wrote,
The $4 program for generics has been running at our Wal-Mart for a couple of months and it is being really well received here in Spokane.
I really like Wal-Mart and really don’t get the objection many people have. We’ve got a super wal-mart (the one with the grocery store) being built in our area and it has really caused homeowners (the wealthy ones with the fancy houses) to gripe. I think it’s great. It will provide a lot of jobs to folks that need them.
Link | November 22nd, 2006 at 1:04 am