BOSTON -- In a day when it seems health care costs are soaring out of control, a small pharmacy in Waltham is cutting its prices and offering one flat fee for hundreds of the most commonly used prescriptions.

NewsCenter 5's Heather Unruh reported Wednesday that it's a move some say is good for business as well as consumers' health.

Unemployed since last summer, Richard Sampson, 65, was in a bind.

"Cholesterol medication, I take. I take blood pressure medication," Sampson said.

Sampson, who is diabetic, takes six prescriptions and eight pills a day, but he doesn't have any insurance.

"These are all required -- ones you can't cheat on," Sampson said.

Now, Sampson is saving $700 a year on the prescriptions he needs by using the new One Price Prescription Drug Plan, which is the brainchild of Johnson Drug owner Steve Bernardi.

"The main issue was when doctors prescribed medications, the patients could not afford it," Bernardi said.

Bernardi's solution was to take hundreds of the most commonly used drugs -- for everything from heartburn to depression, diabetes to high-blood pressure -- and make them available at a discount. Most pills cost just $18 for 100 -- a three-month supply. There are no name brands. All are generics, which helps add up to substantial savings.

"In some cases, it's $60 and $70 per prescription," Bernardi said.

The plan is not just an option for the uninsured.

"Some people's insurance is $10 for a 30-day supply, so obviously $18 for 100 days is a better deal, so we have people who use this instead of their insurance," Bernardi said.

After nine months, Bernardi estimated that he's helped more than 1,000 new customers get the prescriptions they need at a price they can afford -- all without hurting his bottom line.

"I've increased my volume of prescriptions that I wasn't (selling) before," Bernardi said.

Perhaps the best part for many consumers may be that there is no catch. Johnson Drug doesn't charge a fee to take part in the plan, and it's open to everyone, whether or not you have health insurance. So far, they're offering hundreds of medications and are adding more all the time.