GAO: Drug Pricing Research On Savings From Generic Drug Use

January 30, 2012
Despite being one of the fastest growing components of the health care spending, drug spending has been on the decline in recent years. A research carried out by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) attributed the decline to greater use of generic drugs. On average, the retail price of a generic drug is 75% lower than the retail price of a brand-name price. However, other studies have focused not only on the cost savings component but on the overall impact of generic drug use on health care. These studies found an increase in hospitalizations due to high . . .