Kentucky Kroger stores, including the new store located on U.S. 27, were officially included in a national Kroger Co. pharmacy program Wednesday that offers generic prescription drugs to customers for $4.

Other Kroger stores around the country participated in the program before it was unveiled in the company’s mid-south division, which is comprised of stores located in Kentucky, Tennessee, southern Indiana and southern Illinois.

Around 300 generic drugs are featured under the program.

Greg Gadberry, pharmacy manager at the new Kroger, said the discount prescription price helps many customers afford prescriptions they would usually be strapped to pay for.

“It’s a real hindrance for people who don’t have insurance,” Gadberry said. “For those people, this program is very important.”

Gadberry said customers who have insurance are eligible to receive generic discount prescription drugs as well.

“The customer will get the advantage of $4 pricing, even on prescription insurance,” he said.

While Gadberry said he thinks the program is a “win-win” situation for Kroger pharmacy customers and Kroger stores alike, he said the impact of the new program can’t be predicted locally until patient customers start taking advantage of the discounted prices.

“It’ll be hard to gauge what the impact is here,” he said. “But I can’t see where it wouldn’t be beneficial.”

Gadberry said customers who have more faith in brand-name medications shouldn’t worry about buying the generic versions of the same drugs. Generic drugs, which are developed after a company’s exclusive right to market a medication expires, must be therapeutically equivalent to brand name drugs, according to federal law.

While some drugs are only manufactured under brand names, Gadberry said the majority of prescription drugs can be developed at a much lower cost as generic equivalents.

“The idea that customers may not be getting quality medications is for the most part unfounded,” Gadberry said.

Gadberry said the new discounted prescription program is a natural move for a company like Kroger, which operates around 2,458 supermarkets and department stores under two dozen names in 31 states.

“We typically like to be ahead of the game when setting the pace for customer value,” he said.

The new Kroger is also offering a $25 credit for customers who switch their prescription to the store. The credit is placed on customers’ Kroger cards.

The new Kroger hours are 7 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays. The pharmacy is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and from noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

A list of the generic prescription drugs included in the program can be accessed at:

www.kroger.com/generic