The Facts about Generic Prescription Programs
Posted on December 20, 2012
The cost of prescription drugs continues to rise at a significant pace. At Health New England we are constantly looking for ways to keep down your healthcare costs while we still provide you with the highest possible level of healthcare services. As part of this commitment, we want to remind you of an important opportunity that can save you money, while we still provide you the same level of safe and effective care.
Local pharmacies such as Big Y, Rite Aid, Stop & Shop and Target promote low-cost generic1 prescription programs. Each pharmacy offers a wide range of generic medications in these programs at a low cost. If your pharmacy is not listed here, check with your pharmacist to see if a discount generic program is offered.
For example, you could pay approximately $4.00 or less for a generic prescription of a drug that would normally cost a Tier 1 copay, depending on the program your pharmacy offers. It is important that you show your HNE ID card to ensure that you receive the lowest cost when you fill your prescription.
Please consult with your doctor before you change to any of the medications listed in these low-cost programs. It is important to fill all of your medications at one pharmacy so that the pharmacist can review all of your medications.
1 A generic drug is the same as a brand-name drug in:
- dosage
- safety
- strength
- how it is taken
- quality
- performance
- intended use
Before the FDA approves a generic drug product, it requires many rigorous tests and procedures to ensure that the generic drug can be substituted for the brand-name drug. The FDA bases evaluations of substitutability, or “therapeutic equivalence,” of generic drugs on scientific evaluations. By law, a generic drug product must contain identical amounts of the same active ingredient(s) as the brand-name product. Drug products evaluated as “therapeutically equivalent” can be expected to have equal effect and no difference when substituted for the brand-name product. Please visit the FDA’s website at www.fda.gov for more information on generic drugs.
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