Go Generic

Health care can be expensive and one of the last things that you want to worry about when you are sick is paying for any prescribed drugs after you have been diagnosed and given medication instructions. There is nothing worse than getting to the pharmacist and having to pay a small fortune just to make yourself feel better.

One of the things that you can do when you have been told you need prescription medication from your health care professional is to ask for the generic equivalent of the medication rather than a named brand. Name brand prescription drugs are a lot more expensive. If you explain to your health care professional that you are struggling with money or looking to save a few pennies, they will be happy to prescribe an generic prescription if they feel it will do the same job.

Both generic and brand named medication will all work the same, much in a similar way as store brands are the same as the more expensive "named" brands. It's just the label that is different – they do the same job, have the same effect and they contain the same active ingredients. The only difference is that the name brand prescription drugs cost a lot more than their generic equivalents. It doesn't make a lot of sense to pay a lot more for something that is exactly the same you can get for cheaper.

Since all medication must be FDA approved, you can be sure that the difference between the two will be incredibly minimal, if at all. Of course, if you do have any questions about the potential differences between generic and brand medication, you can always ask your health care professional who will be more than happy to explain their feelings on the two. If generic is not an option, always check to see if there is are prescription drug coupons available for the brand named drug as this can also save you quite a bit of money.