Generic Drugs Inserting Competition

The evidence is in; generic drugs help U.S. patients (and taxpayers) save significantly on the nation's annual prescription drug bill. In the Association for Accessible Medicines 2018 Generic Drug Access & Savings in the U.S. report, the leading U.S. industry association for generic manufacturers cites some convincing statistics to support this position. For example, while 90 percent of all U.S. prescriptions filled in 2017 were generics, generic drugs made up only 23 percent of prescription drug spending. Moreover, total savings from generic drugs in the U.S. totaled $265.1 billion in 2017, up from $97.3 billion in 2008. Lastly, while the average primary copay, i.e., the amount established by the health care insurance plans, is $40.30 for brand name drugs, for generic pharmaceuticals, it is $6.06, an out-of-pocket patient differential of over six-and-a-half times.