News from the AARP lends serious support to the reasons for and advantages of using generic medicines where these are reliable:
“Brand-name prescription drug prices have jumped nearly 10% in the past 12 months—the biggest spike in 8 years, according to a new AARP report. The AARP Rx Watchdog report released this week found that the cost of prescription drugs most commonly used by those in Medicare rose 9.7% over the 12-month period ending in March. The Alzheimer’s drug Aricept rose by nearly 14%, while the heart disease medication Plavix saw a 10.5% jump. Expensive specialty drugs, such as biologics or injectable drugs, saw a hike of 9.2%, the report found. The inflation rate remained virtually flat during the same period. Despite the price increase for brand names, the cost of generic drugs declined by an average of 9.7%.”
Source: American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) online, 30 June 2010 (Underscore added)