Walmart is known for delivering low prices on everything from groceries to gardening tools.
If you’re hunting for low prices on your prescription medication, Walmart is a good place to start, and Optum Perks can help. Here’s what you need to know.
How Walmart’s prescription drug program works
Walmart has a discount prescription program that offers prices as low as $4 on select generic medication. That low price is yours regardless of whether you have health insurance, and it doesn’t require you to join a membership program to take advantage of the savings. All you need is a prescription from your doctor.
To understand how the program works, there are a few things you should know.
- The medications start at $4 for a 30-day supply (and $10 for a 90-day supply). But many cost more. A handful of medications on Walmart’s list actually cost $9 or even $15 for a 30-day supply.
- Walmart’s drug list, which you can find on its site, makes prices easy to see before you even enter the store. Just click on a condition and you’ll see the menu of included medications.
- Prices apply to the specific pill counts and strengths listed. If you need to fill a prescription that deviates from those numbers, you may not get the low price. If Walmart sells 30 pills at 20 mg each, for instance, but you need 60 pills at 15 mg, you may not receive the same discount. Also, the discounted prices may not apply to all forms of a given medication. Extended or time-release versions, for example, may be excluded.
- As noted in Walmart’s fine print, prices might be higher in some states — specifically California and Minnesota. And the program isn’t available at all in South Dakota.
- The program includes only generic medications. If you take a brand-name version of a medication and there is a generic available that’s on their list, ask your doctor if the less-expensive alternative would be suitable. If so, you can get a prescription written for the generic and then take advantage of the Walmart pricing.
