CVS/pharmacy Statement Regarding Generic Drug Pricing

WOONSOCKET, R.I., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In response to numerous inquiries regarding a competitor's announcement of its pricing policy on approximately 300 selected generic drugs in the Tampa, Florida market, Matt Leonard, RPh, Senior Vice President of Pharmacy at CVS/pharmacy, made the following comments:

"These 300 drugs are all older generics that already have lower reimbursement rates from health plans. They represent less than 10% of the more than 3,000 unique generic products that we stock. Cash sales of these products amount to less than one-half of one percent of our total pharmacy sales.

"For customers who have prescription coverage, the average generic co-pay is relatively nominal. For example, the generic co-pay for Medicare prescription drug plans is typically $5. Furthermore, under many health plans, the price paid by the consumer for some of these drugs is actually less than $4. In addition, beneficiaries who reach the so-called 'donut hole' in Medicare Part D coverage pay the plan price, which can be less than $4 for a significant number of these drugs.

"CVS/pharmacy has always provided its customers with very competitive pricing, better access, more convenient neighborhood locations and more 24-hour and extended-hour stores, a combination that other competitors can't match."