For many people, affording their prescription medications is a struggle.
"I have one that I pay $77 for. It's a name brand medicine, and I just can't get that one filled," says Georgia King.
Although it’s not a cure-all, Georgia King has found a way to stretch her healthcare dollars. She now gets many of her prescriptions filled through generic drug plans at national retail chain stores.
"The one I get for $4 I was paying right at $13, and the one I get for $10 for a 3 month supply, I was paying $22.24. It's a good savings," says King.
Wal-Mart, K-Mart and Target now offer more than 300 generic prescriptions for $4.
Some lists also include $9 generics for asthma and non-smoking medications.
“There are a lot of drugs for blood pressure, hyper-tension, cholesterol medications, diabetes medication," says pharmacist Brandi Vosberg.
She says many of her patients' medications are on the $4 list. Or in some cases, their doctor can re-write a name brand prescription for a generic that does the same thing.
Vosberg recently recommended a teenage patient with a name brand prescription for his skin condition make the switch.
“The acne medication was over $400, and the same medication we had on a $4 list. he would have to take it more frequently, but I told him to talk to his doctor so instead of $400 a month he could get it for $4 a month," says Vosberg.
LSU Hospital's Associate Dean Dr. Cathi Fontenot endorses the safety and use of generics.
“Generic drugs have to be FDA tested, just like brand names do,” she explains.
But Fontenot says sometimes a generic drug won't get the job done as well as a name brand.
“There are probably a couple of categories where you need to be a little more careful about generics, “ says Fontenot.
She advises patients who are on Plavix, diabetes medications or hormone treatments - especially for the thyroid - carefully consult with their doctor about switching to generics.
“Over the last 20 years, multiple new and sometimes more effective medications have been developed. And in some cases, there are not generics available for those," Fontenot says.
Some patients' conditions require the more advanced drugs.
In other cases, additional tests are needed to make sure to make sure dosage levels are correct. Fontenot advises patients to speak with their doctors:
“They should always ask about that - for sure. Because if there is a generic available, it's going to be a money saver."
The generic plan even helps people with insurance save money. The $4 or $9 generic price is often less than the minimum amount insurance companies charge.
The secret – "It's just buying in bulk basically," says Children's Hospital Pharmacist Helen Calmes.
She explains national chains are now borrowing a technique Children's Hospitals have been using: the chains are striking deals directly with wholesalers to buy large quantities of generics.
“Hospitals have been doing this for a long time. We purchase through buying groups,” says Calmes.
It’s a good time to use the strategy. The number of generic medications on the market is exploding.
“There were certain areas where we didn't see any drug development for a long time, then all of a sudden there was a lot of drug development. It goes in spurts like that,” says Calmes.
Calmes says there was a boom in drug development starting approximately twenty years ago.
Now, the patents are rolling off those drugs and generic manufacturers are picking them up.
The result: hundreds of cheaper medications in large supply at a time when every penny counts, many like King are ready to see the list of generics grow as long as possible, as fast as possible.
For more information on generic drugs, go to www.fda.gov.
