Looks like it may be time to give employees a refresher course on the advantages of generic meds.
In most cases, the only significant difference between a generic drug and its name-brand counterpart is the price. There’s usually little to no clinical difference, the experts say.
Even so, most consumers still don’t think generics are as effective, found a recent survey by UnitedHealth Group.
Some notable findings:
- roughly one employee in three believes that generics do not have the same active ingredients as their brand-name counterparts, and
- two out of every three people believe there’s little to no difference in cost to their employer for offering generic drugs versus brand-name meds — yikes!
What can you do? When educating employees about your prescription plan, be sure to stress the safety and quality of available generics as well as the savings your company will see from using them. Then show how those savings will eventually trickle down into employees’ share of the premiums.
