A smart and easy way to reduce your healthcare costs

Cheaper doesn’t always mean lower quality — but it can mean lower costs. Knowing the facts about your prescription drugs can save you money without sacrificing quality.

FACT: Prescription drugs can be both brand name and generic. Although generics are chemically identical to their branded counterparts, they're sold at big discounts.

FACT: Generic drugs are required by law to have the same active ingredients, strength, dosage, form and administration as brand-name products. The main difference is price. Generic drug manufacturers sell their products at a lower price because they're not required to pay for costly clinical trials of new drugs and generally do not bear the cost of advertising, marketing or promoting generics. These are prescription drugs that have been available to the public for a number of years.

FACT: Today, nearly 8 in 10 prescriptions filled in the U.S. are for generic drugs. And generics are expected to grow over the next few years.

FACT: Generics must pass the same quality standards as brand-name drugs. All generic manufacturing, packaging and testing sites must pass the same standards as brand name. In fact, many generic drugs are made in the same manufacturing plants as their brand-name counterparts.

FACT: The cost of a generic drug is 80 to 85 percent lower than the brand-name product. The use of FDA-approved generics can save billions of dollars every week.

FACT: Generics are just as safe as brand name drugs. The FDA is actively engaged in making all generic drugs safer. It also monitors adverse events reports for generic drugs.

Don’t overpay for a name brand when there are generic options.

Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration