Overheard @: Generics? Not sure what you mean

A new survey by PBM Prescription Solutions and a UnitedHealth Group finds that many consumers don’t get that generics are a health care rarity – just as effective as the more expensive alternative, but without the sticker shock.

Many Americans have an idea in their minds that the most expensive drug (or the one they see advertised on TV by their favorite celebrity) is the most effective one. Not so, says Jacqueline Kosecoff, Prescription Solutions CEO. “Using generics helps make health care more affordable without compromising results.”

Among the survey’s findings:
- Almost 1/3 of respondents think generics do not have the same active ingredients as their brand-name counterparts.
- About 2/3 don’t understand the actual amount of money they were saving by choosing generics, and the real differences in the cost between generics and brand-name medications.
- Ironically, though, 71% of people are concerned about rising drug expenses.

Prescription Solutions reports that a 1% increase in the use of generics by employees can turn into a 1.7% total cost savings for employers. And before you sniff at a 1.7% savings, remember that in pharmacy terms, that can equal tens of thousands.

However, what really would break the bank is the availability of generic specialty drugs, a notion that hasn’t escaped Kosecoff. 

“Biologic drugs can cost tens of thousands of dollars a year for a single person’s treatment needs,” she says. “A regulatory approval pathway for follow-on versions of those biologic drugs – or ‘biosimilars’— must be created by Congress in order for patients, the government and U.S. businesses to afford them.”