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You can save money on your prescriptions drugs by encouraging your doctor to prescribe generic drugs. Generic drugs are drugs that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as safe and effective alternatives to brand name drugs. They contain the same active ingredients in the same amounts as their brand name drug equivalents – and are usually a lot less expensive. Generic drugs provide the same benefit as their brand name counterparts and allow you to pay a lower drug copayment under your prescription drug benefit. To find out if the medication you're taking has a generic equivalent, go to My Rx Choices.

Be sure to shop around for your generic prescriptions. Many national and local retail pharmacies now offer generics at discounted prices. As of September 1, 2009, Medco will also begin offering State Health Plan members lower cost generics on a mail-order basis. Medco’s mail-order pharmacy has more than 400 generics at $10 or less for a 90-day supply, with free shipping.  If you take cholesterol-lowering medications, you could save money with a pilot program offering discounted generics in this drug class.

Your prescription drug benefit offers an open formulary (or a list of covered prescription drugs). In the formulary, prescription drugs are divided into three tiers with one of the tiers being generic (Tier 1). The placement of drugs in the formulary determines which copayment will be charged for each 30-day supply. Generic drugs are considered preferred drugs and only require a $10 copayment for a 30-day supply, so generic drugs are the least costly of the drugs provided under the prescription drug benefit.

Once a generic is available for a brand name medication, and you choose the brand product, you will be responsible for a $10 copay plus the difference in cost between the brand and generic medication.

Recently released generics: