Insurance companies promote use of generic drugs in effort to cut costs

The Chicago Tribune on Sunday examined how some private insurers, in an attempt to reduce health care costs by encouraging the use of generic drugs, "are showering customers with free generic drug samples, waiving copayments and marketing directly to consumers in doctors' offices."

The campaigns by insurers come during a year in which brand-name drugs representing an estimated $20 billion in sales are losing patent protection.

The brand-name drug industry spends billions marketing drugs to doctors and the general public, and health insurers are now "fighting back" by promoting generic drugs, the Tribune reports.

Aetna and other insurance companies are paying to install vending machines in medical offices that allow doctors to dispense up to 30 days of free generic drugs.

The machines track what drugs have been dispensed and send an alert when they need to be refilled. Aetna, Wellpoint and other insurance companies also are offering free generic drugs and are waiving copays for members.

Other insurers, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, are "stepping up direct-mail marketing of generics to consumers to combat direct-to-consumer ad spending on television and magazine ads by brand-name manufacturers," the Tribune reports.

Eric Elliott, director of medical-related products for Aetna, said, "Our piece is a fraction of what the brand-name industry spends but is a focused spend.

This is not a silver bullet and not the program that is going to change the world. But we are trying to change prescribers' habits."

A spokesperson for pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts said, "A 1% point movement in generic dispensing can result in a 1% drop in drug spending" (Japsen, Chicago Tribune, 9/17).