Walmart is cutting prices on generic drugs in Florida as a test program:

- Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, said on Thursday it would cut the prices of nearly 300 generic drugs to $4 per prescription starting in the retirement haven of Tampa, Florida.

Target Inc., which has faced increasingly stiff competition from Wal-Mart, said it would immediately match the drug prices in the Tampa Bay area as part of a long-standing practice of remaining price competitive with its larger rival.

Wal-Mart characterized the program as "part of its ongoing commitment to provide affordable health care to America's working families" and said it hoped to drive down drug prices in general.

Consumer advocates said the move might achieve just that, and shares of generic companies, as well as those of other retail pharmacies, fell.

But Wal-Mart critics called it a public relations move by the giant retailer accused of gobbling up mom-and-pop stores, relentlessly pressuring competitors and suppliers with discounted prices and refusing to provide insurance for many employees, forcing them to rely on government health plans.

The $4 would save patients already using generics anywhere from less than a dollar to several dollars, depending on the drug, a fraction of the price of most branded drugs.

Wal-Mart said the price "covers 291 generic medications that are commonly prescribed to treat conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, cold viruses and infection."

Now I know a lot of Walmart haters out there are going to get all in a tizzy about how it is really a vile scheme to distract from their plan to take over the world, but I can't but think this is a good thing. There are a variety of issues with our health system, but one of the biggest is that economies of scale and competition are rarely brought to bear to bring prices down.

Walmart has not yet released the list of drugs, and it will be interesting to see what is on it. This NPR report on the story suggested that Statins will not be on the list. Statins are the drug of choice for lowering cholesterol so that is an unfortunate omission. Also, this plan will obviously not cover drugs that have no generic counterparts.

Still, if this at the very minimum encourages doctors to prescribe generics when they are available then I think it would be a good thing. Doctors can be so infuriatingly oblivious about how much drugs cost.