AP reported that Walmart will test selling generic prescription drugs for $4 in the Tampa Bay area. The next day, Target announced that it would do the same. A financial analyst in the latter article imagines Walgreens and CVS will follow suit.

Now who says the market can’t be a positive force in fixing “problems”?

From the first article:

“We’re able to do this by using one of our greatest strengths as a company — our business model and our ability to drive costs out of the system, and the model that passes those costs savings to our customers,” he said at a Tampa Wal-Mart. “In this case, we’re applying that business model to health care.”

Simon said Wal-Mart is working with the 30 participating drug companies to help them be more efficient. “We are working with them as partners. We are not pressuring them to reduce prices,” he said.

Not yet, anyway. :)