Rising health care costs, especially prescription drugs, has been receiving a lot of media attention recently. Prescription benefits cost is increasing at average 11.2 percent per year and is the fastest growing segment of health care.
This rise is especially affecting senior citizens. The statistic shows that among patients 70 years and older, drug costs rose 14% in 1999, while the average drug costs for all other age groups rose 9.6%. In year 2000 several health maintenance organizations (HMOs) announced they would leave the Medicare program, a decision that affected nearly a million senior citizens. With the advances in biotech technology and gene therapy life span has continued to rise. As the people are living longer they use more and more drugs. This fact has made some HMOs to stop insuring senior citizens altogether.
As the drugs se becoming more advanced and more sophisticated they are becoming more expensive. This has prompted some manufacturers to start manufacturing generic drugs. Generic drugs are less expensive equivalent of the brand name drugs. Based on 1999 values of the average wholesale prices, the blood pressure drug called Hydrodiuril was eight times more expensive than its generic counterpart, hydrochlorothiazide. Elavil, well known anti-depressant was twice the cost of its generic equivalent amitriptyline. However sometimes there are exceptions to this rule. One of them is tamoxifen. Brand name manufacturer bought exclusive rights for the production of generic equivalents. Since the same company owns the rights to both brand and generic tamoxifen, the price for the generic is only 1 cent lower than for the brand name! Currently, the Federal Trade Commission is investigating the manufacturer’s actions, since they appear to have discouraged other companies from marketing generic tamoxifen.
Recently we are hearing a lot about Zimulti. Zimulti is a new obesity treatment that can pave a hassle-free route to a healthy life far away from the clutches of obesity. Zimulti is a brand name drug, which can be found in its generic version Rimonabant. Rimonabant is an anorectic, CB1 cannabinoid receptor antagonist, anti obesity drug. This means that Rimonabant lowers appetite and increases feeling of satiety. Obesity is now the most common nutritional disorder in western industrialized countries. Rimonabant is prescribed to individuals with a body mass index of greater than 30.
Generic drugs are safe and effective equivalents of the brand name drugs. All of them have to be approved by Food and Drug Administration. They are just as safe and just as effective as the brand name products they are substituting, but for a fraction of the cost. Ask your physician if he is able to recommend alternative therapy if you are currently using brand name drug.
Before you start using Rimonabant, any other generic or brand name drug, or over the counter medication, prior conversation with your doctor and pharmacist is suggested to stay away from any future harmful repercussions and to familiarize yourself with possible side effects. Seek instantaneous medical assistance, if you undergo any side effects for an extended phase of time or any other critical side effects.