The Forums › Forums › Medication › Concerta › Pharmacies keep trying to push me on to the Generic. › Re: Pharmacies keep trying to push me on to the Generic.
OK I work in a pharmacy and I just have to stand up for the employees here. First of all the store does not make more money for dispensing the generic, the dispensing fee is the same for any drug. By law the pharmacy is required to dispense the least expensive brand available. Government and most other drug plans will only cover the generic brand because it is cheaper for them and will only pay for the brand name if the doctor specifies ‘no sub’ in writing. Some plans will not cover the name brand under any circumstances. In all cases it would be so much easier to give the customer what they want it’s governments and insurance companies that complicate things.
That said, I totally agree that there is no real substitute for Concerta. I’ve used both generic and brand name and the difference is huge. I’ve heard the same from pretty much everyone who has used it or has a child taking it. We actually dispense very little of the generic brand which is fine with me.
My doctor gave me one of the cards from Janssen and it covers what my drug plan doesn’t. You have to get if from your doctor though the company does not supply them to drugstores. Even if you don’t have a drug plan it will pay the difference between the brand name and generic which is a little help, that stuff is expensive.
Just to clarify, this is in Canada. I don’t know what the rules are in other countries.
REPORT ABUSE