Costs of Generic Prescription Medication
Generic medications, or generic drugs, have exactly the same active ingredients as brand-name drugs. The difference is in the price: generic drugs can cost 30 to 80 percent less than their brand-name counterparts.
According to the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the 2004 national average price of a generic drug was $28.74, while the brand name counterpart was $96.01.
Even with such a vast savings, there are some consumers who will not accept generic drugs. It may be due to misunderstanding of the intent of generics, or not enough education on the availability. Some have a hard time accepting that something that costs less is just as effective. Generic drugs are, in fact, the exact same thing as the name brand.
It works like this: Once a brand name drug is approved for sale, a patent for the name and drug type protects it from being marketed by any company other than the developer for a set amount of time. This is to allow the developer the opportunity to make back the money they invested in the drug's development and testing. After that patent expires, the same drug can be taken, given a different name and sold for a lower price. Generic drugs are just name-brand drugs that have been made available for sale by other vendors.
The FDA requires generic drug manufacturers to submit to tests proving that their drugs are just as effective and safe as the original. Most doctors will discuss the option of generic alternatives with you at the time of prescription, or some may automatically substitute them. However, if you are having trouble affording a name-brand medication, ask your doctor about a generic counterpart. As of June 2005, of the 11,167 drugs listed in the FDA's Orange Book, 8,400 had generic alternatives, and even more are available now.
