Generic Prescriptions Make Health Care Affordable to All

!9# Generic Prescriptions Make Health Care Affordable to All

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Drugs sold as a cheaper alternative to brand named products are called generic drugs. Usually, generic drug companies cannot patent their active ingredients, but they can patent their own unique formulation.

The Food and Drug Administration of the United States of America governs all medications and according to them the generic drug is identical to the brand named drug, legally. Therefore, the same laws apply to these drugs as their branded counterparts where strength, administration and safety are concerned. They must contain the same active ingredient as the branded product and be within acceptable bioequivalent ranges.

Once the patent expires on a branded drug, generic drugs can be introduced into the market. This leads to competition on the market which brings down the price of both the generic and the branded drug.

Whilst patents are valid for 20 years on drugs in the USA, it is only really active for about a decade as developers have to apply for a patent before they begin with clinical trials.

Once a patent no longer protects a drug, drug companies can develop a similar product for a lot cheaper. This saves a lot of money for the generic company and enables them to market the product for a lot cheaper, hence the savings are passed onto health insurers and patients. Generic meds can be distributed within developing countries for a lot cheaper than the named brands.

India is the world leader in generic drug manufacturing and are distributed from there to many developing countries. Generics are created by applying reverse engineering to brand named formulations to create bioequivalent generics thereof. Generics don't need to undergo clinical trials proving safety and effectiveness, which also saves time and money.

Generic drug companies leverage off the marketing efforts of the brand name drug, which after a number of years on the market has become well-known to healthcare professionals. These same professional can now easily switch over their patients from the branded product to the generic medication.

Branded products monopolize the industry while the patent applies and this allows them to price the product as they wish to maximize profits. In doing this, they produce funds to research and create additional drugs, which generic med companies lack the funds for.

It is legal for generic developers to create a new generic version when either the patent for the branded product expires, when they can certify the invalidity of the original patent or in a country where the patent is not valid. Not all patents are valid in all countries.

Market monopoly is removed when a patent expires and they are generally not renewable. If a brand name company changes their formulation drastically, they have to apply for a new patent. New clinical trials will have to be performed. While this happens, the generic drug can still be sold unless it is removed from the shelves by regulators of the FDA.

Generic Prescriptions Make Health Care Affordable to All

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How to Call Long Distance For Just Pennies Per Minute

!9# How to Call Long Distance For Just Pennies Per Minute

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How much do you pay to make a long distance call from your home phone? If it is anything more than a handful of Abraham Lincolns per minute, read on.

Dozens of cost-saving alternatives exist to cut down your long distance bill but one of the easiest has to be using a pre-paid phone card. You can find a wide selection of pre-paid phone cards at big name stores like Sam's Club, Costco, Wal-Mart and Target. To get your hands on one, just visit one of these stores, grab a pre-paid card off the shelf and head to the checkout. The card will be activated as soon as you complete your purchase

What's the going rate? Here's a sample of pre-paid phone cards and their prices as of August, 2008:

Sam's Club: AT&T PrePaid Phone Card - 1,000 min., .70 or Body.0347 (3.47 cents) per minute Costco: Verizon 700 Minute Prepaid Phone Card Plus, .99 or Body.0286 (2.86 cents) per minute

When you are ready to use your card, just follow the instructions on the back of the card. This usually entails dialing a toll-free access number to initiate a call. Next, enter the personal identification number (PIN) assigned to your card. Finally, enter the number you want to dial and your call is connected. With some pre-paid phone cards, you may even be able to eliminate the middle step (known as PIN-less calling).

If this sounds like a lot of steps, it can be. Especially when after dialing all of these numbers you get a busy signal and have to try again a few minutes later. If you have speed dial or memory dial on your phone you can get around this by programming the toll-free access number to one speed dial or memory dial number and your PIN to another. This should speed up the dialing process significantly.

Extra charges if you're not careful

It's important to know when using a pre-paid calling card that they are primarily designed for domestic, state-to-state calls, from one land-based line to another land-based line. Anything other than these exact circumstances and you can wind up paying a few more pennies a minute than you expected.

Here's a summary of situations where you may experience higher rates:

You call from a mobile phone or to a mobile phone You call from a pay phone You call to a number outside the United States You call to a number in the same state as your own (ex: Indiana to Indiana)
Besides cost, there are several other advantages to using pre-paid phone cards including:

Minutes never expire. Check the terms of your card to verify this before purchase. Can be used on any land-based phone line, not just your own. So go ahead and make that long distance call from your friend's house. No monthly or recurring fees such as the ones your local phone company may charge for unlimited long distance. When you run low on minutes on your card you can recharge your card with new minutes right over the phone. No need to run to the store to buy a new card.

To be fair, there are a few disadvantages as well. Notably, most calling cards display generic caller IDs such as "GEORGIA CALL" which means your best friend with caller ID may not recognize you and ignore your call. Also, it can be an inconvenience when you unexpectedly run low on minutes and you are in the middle of an important call.

Most would say that these are fair trade-offs for the low per-minute cost of the call.

How to Call Long Distance For Just Pennies Per Minute

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