Scarborough Research, the leading local market research firm for identifying consumer and retail behaviors in the United States, took the liberty of compiling a list of the top local markets selling diabetic medications in the last 12 months. A dubious distinction it may be, these locations burn like a flame for the moths of diabetes product resellers.

Knoxville, TN, Memphis, TN, and Columbus, OH round out the top 3 local markets for diabetes medication purchasers. The Scarborough analysis also finds that Walgreens is the number one national drug store brand among diabetes medication purchasers. More than 3.1 million, or 18%, of these consumers purchased prescription drugs at Walgreens during the past year. CVS (17%), Wal-Mart (16%), Rite Aid (8%), and Eckerd Drug (4%) complete the top national drug store brands among diabetes medication purchasers.

In Charleston, Wal-Mart is the top store among diabetes medication purchasers, as over one-quarter (27%) of these consumers purchased prescription drugs there during the past year. Rite-Aid (20%), CVS (14%), Fruth Pharmacy (8%), and Kroger (5%) are other leading stores among diabetes medication purchasers.

Wal-Mart Stores planned to offer generic prescription medicines at $ 4 for a 30-day supply, regardless of insurance. This was slated as a test run, in Tampa, FL, before taking the program nationwide, sometime next year. The reduced price represents a 67 percent savings over the normal retail price of the drugs.

By cutting the cost of many generic drugs to $ 4, Wal-Mart hopes to ensure that customers and associates get the medicines they need at a price they can afford. "That's a real solution for our nation's working families," says H. Lee Scott, Wal-Mart president and chief executive officer. Wal-Mart designed this program to dramatically change the way health care is provided in this country. The numbers don't lie: generic medications cost an average of nearly $30 and the average brand-name fix runs about $100. With resounding interest in the concept, Wal-Mart decided to roll out its $4 generic prescription program in Florida beginning Friday, October 6, 2006 -- nearly four months earlier than expected.

Two of my favorite things in symphony: Wal-Mart and Florida. Wal-Mart is my guilty pleasure. I'll spend hours browsing the isles and the faces. I love Florida. Really, I do. No state tax, great highways, warm winters, Disney. And now this! By the way, you know how they say imitation is the highest form of flattery? Well, Target plans to match Wal-Mart's $4 drug program. I guess everybody will have to jump on the generic drug rollback bandwagon.