Health Insurance Articles
How Using Generic Medications Can Affect Your Health Insurance Bills
2010-02-11
Health insurance policy rates are skyrocketing in America. What's worse is that it's rising amidst hard economical times. People are scrabbling for ways to save on their health coverage because medical insurance is a necessity, especially if you have health conditions that require treatment. Budget conscious people, however, have found the ideal solution to this dilemma: generic drugs.
The majority of prescriptions - more than 50% - are filled using generic drugs. This is because generic drugs help patients save as much as 80% on their medical costs, compared to name brand drugs, which are astronomically high. These savings are possible because generic drugs are less expensive to develop - unlike its pricey counterparts. The best part about generic drugs is that it lowers the cost of your health insurance policy. Several major retailers such as Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, and Costco carry generic medicine. Wal-Mart is particularly known for its $4 prescriptions program, which lasts for 30 days. This program also carries a 90 day prescription supply for $10.00. This is much more cost effective than paying as much as $200 for a name brand drug.
The safeness of generic drugs has often been in question. This is because as a society, we tend to believe the higher a product costs, the better it is. Also, brand name drug manufacturers advertise their products as being more effective than generic. This is false. Brand name and generic medications are both required by the FDA to have the same safety and quality standards. In addition, the active ingredients found in name brand drugs must be present in generic medication too. Besides the price, the only major difference between generic pills and name brand medicine is the pill coating's color.
Although using generic medication has an excellent affect on your health insurance coverage, consult your doctor before taking these drugs. If financial difficulty is your reason for using generic medication, then explain this situation to your doctor. They can write a prescription that is in generic form. This is easy too, especially since several brand name medications are now available as generic. Keep in mind, however, your health condition and the available drug for treating it. In short, there must be a generic drug available for your health condition. Common health conditions such as allergies, diabetes, depression, and high cholesterol automatically have generic medications. Generic drugs are an excellent choice for treating one's health condition. It should be considered more often, possibly even beyond financial reasons. It is, after all, a good solution to good health just like name brand medicines. And everyone deserves good health.
