Generic Alternatives

Generic Drug Calculator

Generics Resources

Generics Print Materials

Generics Q & A

Generic Drugs Save You Money

Americans pay more for prescription drugs than citizens of any other country. But what if you could save up to 85 percent on those medications? Switching to generic drugs is the way to do it.

Generic drugs are chemically identical to their brand-name equivalents, but since they are sold at substantially discounted prices, generics save consumers tens of billions of dollars each year. The average price of a brand-name prescription is between $80 and $100. The average price of a generic is around $15.

Most importantly, you can be sure that your generic drug is just as safe and effective as a brand-name medication because all generics must meet the same rigid FDA standards for quality (including identity, strength and purity).

More than 3 billion prescriptions are filled in the United States each year, and today over half of those are generic. Moreover, in the next five years, 20-year patents are going to expire on $60 billion worth of brand-name medications. Generics will be introduced to replace those drugs, providing a great opportunity to save you money!

Our Quest for Affordable Medications

In 2007, Quality Quest for Health launched the "Affordable Medications" project to lower prescription spending in the community. Our team focused on increasing the use of generic medications by local practices as an effective way to reduce medication costs.

By analyzing medical claims information, the team found a wide variance in the prescription rates of generic medications among medical practices. To make these rates consistently higher, the team reported and compared the generic prescribing rates of seven medical specialties. Sharing this information with physicians generated immediate change, as practices in all specialties worked to prescribe more generics--and save their patients more money.