Consumer Issues
Generic Drugs Save Billions of Dollars Each Year
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May 7, 2009 - 1:04:20 PM

(HealthNewsDigest.com) - Washington, DC—Gail Shearer, Director of Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs, issued the following statement on today’s report from the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) that shows generic drugs saved consumers $734 billion over the last 10 years. In 2008 the group estimated that Americans saved $121 billion. The report was prepared by IMS Health for the GPhA.

“These findings from this new study show what we’ve known for years – consumers who choose generic drugs whenever possible can realize significant savings—in some cases over $1,000 a year in out-of-pocket expenses.“ Shearer said. “And those savings add up to large-scale reductions in costs for the health system as a whole, something we all know is desperately needed.”

“At a time when Congress and the nation are looking for ways to reduce health care spending, it’s essential that we maximize the savings from the broadest possible use of generic drugs, when clinically appropriate,” Shearer added.

Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, launched a public education project called Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs in 2004 to help consumers compare the effectiveness, safety and cost of medicines. Many of the project’s “Best Buys” are generics. Best Buy Drugs is free on the Web at: www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org/BestBuyDrugs.

To see the full report from GPhA please visit: http://www.gphaonline.org/

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