Generic Drugs vs. Brand Name Drugs... Who Cares?

First of all, why should you care? Because you can save a boatload of money, that's why!

This is where the big bucks are. If you take one pill a day and the brand name drug is $3 a pill (yes, that's realistic). In one year, you'll spend $1,095 for that one medication. A generic drug purchased at Wal Mart with no health insurance will cost you $4 for 30 days - that's $48.00 a year - a $1,046 savings.

What's the bottom line? Here's some comments from a recent study: "...the research reconfirms that FDA-approved generics provide the same medicine with the same clinical effects at a substantial cost savings." The results of 30 studies done since 1984 comparing nine sub-classes of cardiovascular drugs to generic counterparts were combined and showed that brand-name drugs did not offer any advantage for patients' clinical outcomes (Journal of the American Medical Association).

So! Take the kids out on the town or the family out to dinner once a month and use generic drugs whenever possible.