On Thursday, October 19 Wal-Mart announced it would expand its program offering $4 prescriptions on certain generic drugs. Initially the program debuted in Florida but will now be available in fourteen states.

The states slated to participate in the program include Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and Vermont.

The expansion will include approximately 1,264 Wal-Mart stores prompting rival Walgreen to issue a statement saying it will not match the Wal-Mart offering. The company said, in part, "Once consumers learn the fine print of Wal-Mart's program, they'll realize Walgreens offers the best value for pharmacy patients."

Target, on the other hand, announced plans to meet the discount in all states except Alaska and Vermont where the discount retail center does not have a presence. K-Mart, which began offering 184 generics at a price of $15 for a 90-day supply said it would stand by that program while CVS said that it has always provided customers with competitive pricing and would continue to do so.

Under the terms of the plan, Wal-Mart charges a flat fee of $4 on some 314 generic prescriptions including commonly used medicines such as the antidepressant fluoxetine and atenolol, which is a beta blocker.

According to company statistics on the initial program offering in Florida, some 88,235 new prescriptions were filled in a ten day period.

Wal-Mart executive vice president of the professional services division, Bill Simon, said, "Our goal is to respond to customer demand, but to do so in a way that insures that it will not interrupt our supply-chain management or in-store operations."