Walmart+ members now have added prescription benefits

Walmart said Monday (June 7) it’s adding a new perk for Walmart+ members with a prescription benefit dubbed Walmart+Rx for less. The latest benefit will provide additional savings on the most commonly prescribed medications across a variety of health needs, including heart health, mental health, antibiotics, allergies and diabetes management.

The retail giant said any member with a paid Walmart+ membership will have access to select medications at zero cost, and thousands of additional prescription medications at a discount of up to eighty-five percent. The service is being administered by Medipact, a pharmacy benefit management company. The company said the program is not available in Puerto Rico, North Dakota, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Arizona and Vermont. Also, the program will be slightly different in California, according to a news release.

Walmart+ members will see the new service on their account via the mobile app or website when they sign in. The member will show the cashier their Rx Savings Card on the app to get the discount when they pick up the prescription. Walmart said the program is not insurance. It is a discount program and it cannot be combined with insurance. The company said routine maintenance drugs like Lisinopril used for blood pressure control will be free, as will the commonly prescribed antibiotics such as Cephalexin and Amoxicillin as well as the blood sugar maintenance drug Metformin.

Members can check the cost of the drugs they take on the Walmart app under the Rx benefit service. Walmart+ members pay either $98 annually or $12.95 a month for the Walmart+ subscription. The company has not released any numbers on the size of its membership base but earlier this year Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimated Walmart+ had attracted roughly 8.2 million members.

Analysts that follow Walmart have said they expect Walmart+ to have signed on about 10 million members by the one-year anniversary of the launch in September.