It's that time of year again - Open Enrollment for 2013 Health Care Plans.
At our benefits meeting this week, the Kaiser Permanente representative wanted to push employees into choosing their "HMO Select" option. He also stacked the deck towards using generic drugs saying "they are just the same (as the brand-name drug)" and "cost much less". He portrayed pharmaceutical companies as money grubbers with no legitimate reason to recoup their expenses. His emphasis was on the cheap way, not the best way and that is where I find fault with Kaiser-Permanent.
Don't let the copycats fool you. The
difference between many generic and brand drugs is not just the cost.
I spent 20 years in pharmaceutical product development and I can assure readers formal data show some people do react differently - although the pro-generic folks will say such data are anecdotal.
While
it is true that generics are supposed to be bio-equivalent to the brand-name
drug and must meet the same safety standards, the manufacturing method and inactive
ingredients may be different. How something is made can be as important as what the ingredients are. The term “inactive” is a bit misleading too because
these ingredients can affect how fast the drug is released and/or absorbed.
If you wonder why generics don't look like the brand-name version it's because of Trademarks. And, the generic drug doens't even have to contain the same amount of drug as the brand-name. So, the old saying is still true: Buyer Beware!
There are
also different types of
generics: Equivalents (equivalents contain the same active
ingredients) and alternatives (don't use the same active ingredient).
Everyone
needs to know that if the generic drug does not work for you or
gives you adverse or intolerable side effects, you can ask your doctor to write “Dispense as
Written” or “Do Not Substitute” on the prescription your healthcare provider will have to honor
that order even though it costs more.
Finally,
it’s selective reasoning to imply drug manufacturers are gauging customers. The
cost is not (just) advertising. It is from spending multi-millions to develop,
stabilize, ensure safety in humans, and determine the best way to administer
the drug.
Those who make generics are really stealing the work and ideas of
others.Would you like it if someone took your ideas or your work and made money off it without paying you? I wouldn't.
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