Almost every proposal in Congress to add drug benefits to Medicare would strongly encourage the use of generic medications.

Q: How has the availability of generic medications changed statin therapy?

Physicians with access to free samples are more likely to prescribe brand name medication over equivalent generic medications.

It is relatively new to the market and a generic medication is not available yet.

"Ask your doctor, 'Is there a generic medication available for this prescription?' "

After a few months, patients may need to switch to cheaper generic medications or turn to long-term behavioral treatments.

Is there a generic medication that would work just as well?

The approval is an important step in the agency's effort to increase the availability of lower-cost generic medications.

Wine was also used as a generic medication, being taken to have medicinal virtue.

So, the generic medication is the bioequivalent of the brand-name drug.