Drugs: More help for your indigent patients

Amoxicillin, lovastatin, propranolol, or tetracycline for 11 cents a day? That's roughly how much patients will pay for any of up to 350 generic drugs under Wal-Mart's new $10, 90-day prescription-drug program, which marks a price reduction from the mega-retailer's already popular $4-a-month deal. (The company boasts that its discounted drug program, available in every state except North Dakota, has saved patients more than $1.1 billion since its September 2006 inception.) In addition to cutting costs on prescription generics, Wal-Mart now charges $4 for off-brand versions of commonly used over-the-counter drugs, such as Claritin and Zantac, which it claims represents an approximately 50 percent discount over its competitors' prices.