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September 20, 2002 Wearing buttons
that read "Go Generic! The Smart Choice," representatives of
Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Western New York introduced a new educational
campaign Tuesday during a news conference at the Rite Aid Pharmacy on Main
Street in Williamsville. The campaign is
aimed at consumers, as well as doctors and pharmacists. Blue Cross
officials were joined by representatives from the AARP and the office of
Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y. The AARP has a
national advertising campaign called "Check Up on Your
Prescriptions" that encourages consumers to consider generic drugs,
and Schumer has co-sponsored a bill with Sen. John McCain, R- Ariz., aimed
at lowering the costs of prescription drugs. The legislation would remove
loopholes that slow the introduction of generic drugs into the
marketplace. Consumers often
are influenced by heavy advertising of brand- name drugs, which represent
about 55 percent of the prescription drug market, said Renee Fleming, vice
president of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Western New York. "The sense
is that people are hesitant to use generics because they think they're
inferior," Fleming said. Nonetheless,
generic drugs go through the same Food and Drug Administration approval
process as brand-name drugs, said Ed Stevens, a pharmacist with Rite Aid
Corp., which is supporting the campaign. "We're 100
percent behind it. We see the savings that are available, and the savings
are dramatic," Stevens said. "The drugs are going through the
same FDA testing. There's no question about their safety and
efficacy." A generic drug
is made with the same active ingredients and is available in the same
strength and dosage as the equivalent brand- name product. They cost less
because generic manufacturers spend far less on research, development,
sales and marketing. The average
cost of a generic prescription in 2001 was $21.96, about 31 percent of the
$71.18 it cost, on average, to fill a brand- name medication, according to
the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. Blue Cross/Blue
Shield, which has about 570,000 subscribers in Western New York, figures
that it would save $3 million for each percentage-point increase in usage
of generic drugs rather than brand names. Consumers would
benefit from lower out-of-pocket costs at the pharmacy and could also save
money on insurance premiums by choosing generic drugs, because insurers
pass the high cost of brand-name drugs on to subscribers, said Fleming,
who was in Albany on Monday to introduce the campaign to consumers there. Independent
Health, which has about 360,000 members, said the campaign would help
other insurers and health maintenance organizations, spokesman Frank Sava
said. "We
certainly all can benefit from that," Sava said. Independent
Health has focused on "benefit design and physician education"
rather than public awareness in trying to increase the use of generic
drugs, said John Rodgers, director of pharmacy. In January, the
HMO moved to a three-tier co-payment system that charges a $7 co-pay for
generic drugs, $15 for preferred brand names, and $30 for nonpreferred
brand names. "We're really phasing out the flat co-pay," Rodgers
said. The new tier
system already has helped reverse a trend that began in 1997 toward
decreased use of generic drugs, he added. Blue Cross's campaign would consist primarily of working with doctors and pharmacists in educating the public, Fleming said. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging
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