(NAPSA)—Learning more about the way Medicare prescription drug benefits work can help you get the coverage you need when you need it. One way to make your Medicare prescription drug benefits stretch further is with generic drugs, low-cost medicines with the exact same active ingredients in the exact same strengths as brands. Provisions in current Medicare law require the program to pay 75 percent of drug costs under $2,400 and 95 percent of drug costs over $3,850—but nothing in between. This coverage gap means that once you've paid out that first ade ec : mY GS Er Seals oes Dh) a : that’s in June or November, your Affordable generic prescriptions can help you get more out of the Medicare prescription drug program. downfor the rest of the year. Access to generics is especially important for seniors whoare often $2,400 for the medications you need to take every day, whether prescription costs could suddenly go way up and maynot come back Thankfully, there is a way to on a fixed incomes. That’s because help avoid this situation—by asking your doctor or pharmacist theyre watching health care costs available for your prescription. Generics are the key to holding bite out of their wallets. In one recent survey, 26 percent of senior citizens surveyed whether a generic medicine is down prescription drug costs and better dealing with the coverage gap. They offer you the same medicine, with the same results as brand-name drugs, but at a con- siderably lower cost. That’s why groups such as the AARPare urg- ing their members to consider using FDA-approved generic drugs as a means of delaying the gap in their Medicare coverage. Generics are not only more afford- able, they could also reduce copayments. Generics actually cost seniors and all consumers 30 per- cent to as much as 80 percent less than brand-name drugs. in general, and drug costs in par- ticular take an increasingly big stated that they did not fill a pre- scription, skipped doses or took smaller doses of medications due to the high cost of drugs. Generics can help those who may be affected by the coverage gap. How can you find out if an affordable generic is available for your daily medicine? The best way is to ask your doctor or pharmacist. Another good way is to check the Food and Drug Administration Web site at www.fda.gov/cder or the Generic Pharmaceutical Association Web site at www.gphaonline.org.
