Meijer Adds Anti-Diabetic Drug to Free Medication Offering

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer here announced Monday it would begin dispensing free with a prescription Metformin Immediate Release, the most commonly prescribed treatment for type 2 diabetes.

This follows the announcement last month by Publix Super Markets, Lakeland, Fla., that it would offer free Metformin with a prescription as part of the company’s new diabetes management system.

“We were pleased when we saw Publix, a company we admire, make this move. We quickly looked at it and decided to do the same here in our five-state region,” said Hank Meijer, co-chairman and chief executive officer of Meijer, in a prepared statement.

Meijer’s program will include doses prescribed in 500-, 850- and 1,000-milligram tablets.

Currently, more than 80 million American children and adults have some form of diabetes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in three children born today will develop diabetes in their lifetime. The numbers are even worse for minorities.

In addition to free Metformin, Meijer pharmacy offers seven of the most popular children’s antibiotics free with a prescription as well as free pre-natal vitamins for women with a prescription. To date, Meijer said it has filled more the 5 million free antibiotic prescriptions, and more than 500,000 prescriptions for free pre-natal vitamins since the programs began in 2006 and 2007.

Meijer said the total cost savings to consumers for antibiotics and pre-natal vitamins is more than $90 million.

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