Warnings About Finding Health Insurance over the Internet
Here is some information that most health insurance agents and companies will not tell you about the internet, "Not every site is what it seems." For example, most people do not realize that filling out a quote might prompt 5 to 10 calls from insurance companies and agents. It will probably result in an email box full of insurance fodder, and it could go on for months.
The Down Side - Here is what typically happens when a person searches for health insurance over the internet. They type in some key word into the search engine like dallas health insurance, dallas health quote, or some related term, then they get the results. The advertising might draw them in (this is usually a company that bids on the right to show up on this page when you type in the specific words) The companies that advertise get the most amount of visitors to their site. The rest of us are sitting in Yahoo, Google, MSN and other search engines hoping that you will find us. If you see us listed under the search results it is because we have slaved over our site to try to gain some sort of placement or we just got lucky that day. When you decide on the one to click you are taken to a landing page. This is the place on the web site that is designed to get you to fill out the quote. Now this is where the circus begins. If the site is not an agent site then your name will probably be sold to up to 10 agents. This is why you might get calls from several agents.
The Up Side - The internet provides a way for you to get instant information and quotes from multiple companies all for an investment of 60 seconds. If you go to an agents site that works with multimple companies than you can get the best overview of what is available in the market place with out getting 10 calls.
Select
1. A local Texas Agent
2. An Agent that represents multiple health insurance companies.
3. An Agent that has the ability to let you run your own quote.
4. An Agent the specilizes in health insurance - not homeowners, liability,or automobile insurance
Friday, June 15, 2007
Generic Drugs: What Are They?
Generic Drugs: What Are They?
A generic drug is identical, or bioequivalent to a brand name drug in dosage form, safety, strength, route of administration, quality, performance characteristics and intended use. Although generic drugs are chemically identical to their branded counterparts, they are typically sold at substantial discounts from the branded price. According to the Congressional Budget Office, generic drugs save consumers an estimated $8 to $10 billion a year at retail pharmacies. Even more billions are saved when hospitals use generics.
Drug companies must submit an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for approval to market a generic product. The Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, more commonly known as the Hatch-Waxman Act, made ANDAs possible by creating a compromise in the drug industry. Generic drug companies gained greater access to the market for prescription drugs, and innovator companies gained restoration of patent life of their products lost during FDA's approval process.
New drugs, like other new products, are developed under patent protection. The patent protects the investment in the drug's development by giving the company the sole right to sell the drug while the patent is in effect. When patents or other periods of exclusivity expire, manufacturers can apply to the FDA to sell generic versions. The ANDA process does not require the drug sponsor to repeat costly animal and clinical research on ingredients or dosage forms already approved for safety and effectiveness. This applies to drugs first marketed after 1962.
Health professionals and consumers can be assured that FDA approved generic drugs have met the same rigid standards as the innovator drug. To gain FDA approval, a generic drug must:
* contain the same active ingredients as the innovator drug(inactive ingredients may vary)
* be identical in strength, dosage form, and route of administration
* have the same use indications
* be bioequivalent
* meet the same batch requirements for identity, strength, purity, and quality
* be manufactured under the same strict standards of FDA's good manufacturing practice regulations required for innovator products
For more information on the safety and effectiveness of generic drugs, please see:
* FDA Generic Drugs Final Rule and Initiative
* Consumer Education: Generic Drugs
* Generic Competition and Drug Prices (4/4/2006)
* FDA White Paper: New FDA Initiative on "Improving Access to Generic Drugs." (6/12/2003).
* FDA White Paper: Generic Drug Prices in the U.S. Are Lower Than Drug Prices in Canada. (11/2003)
* FDA and the Drug Development Process: How the Agency Ensures that Drugs are Safe and Effective (2/2002) [HTML] or [PDF]. Spanish version: [HTML] or [PDF]
* FDA Ensures Equivalence of Generic Drugs. PDF document From the 1999 edition of "From Test Tube to Patient: Improving health through human drugs."
* Generic Drugs: Safe. Effective. FDA Approved. Public service announcements promoting the safety and effectiveness of generic drugs.
o Six Public Service Announcements
A generic drug is identical, or bioequivalent to a brand name drug in dosage form, safety, strength, route of administration, quality, performance characteristics and intended use. Although generic drugs are chemically identical to their branded counterparts, they are typically sold at substantial discounts from the branded price. According to the Congressional Budget Office, generic drugs save consumers an estimated $8 to $10 billion a year at retail pharmacies. Even more billions are saved when hospitals use generics.
Drug companies must submit an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for approval to market a generic product. The Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, more commonly known as the Hatch-Waxman Act, made ANDAs possible by creating a compromise in the drug industry. Generic drug companies gained greater access to the market for prescription drugs, and innovator companies gained restoration of patent life of their products lost during FDA's approval process.
New drugs, like other new products, are developed under patent protection. The patent protects the investment in the drug's development by giving the company the sole right to sell the drug while the patent is in effect. When patents or other periods of exclusivity expire, manufacturers can apply to the FDA to sell generic versions. The ANDA process does not require the drug sponsor to repeat costly animal and clinical research on ingredients or dosage forms already approved for safety and effectiveness. This applies to drugs first marketed after 1962.
Health professionals and consumers can be assured that FDA approved generic drugs have met the same rigid standards as the innovator drug. To gain FDA approval, a generic drug must:
* contain the same active ingredients as the innovator drug(inactive ingredients may vary)
* be identical in strength, dosage form, and route of administration
* have the same use indications
* be bioequivalent
* meet the same batch requirements for identity, strength, purity, and quality
* be manufactured under the same strict standards of FDA's good manufacturing practice regulations required for innovator products
For more information on the safety and effectiveness of generic drugs, please see:
* FDA Generic Drugs Final Rule and Initiative
* Consumer Education: Generic Drugs
* Generic Competition and Drug Prices (4/4/2006)
* FDA White Paper: New FDA Initiative on "Improving Access to Generic Drugs." (6/12/2003).
* FDA White Paper: Generic Drug Prices in the U.S. Are Lower Than Drug Prices in Canada. (11/2003)
* FDA and the Drug Development Process: How the Agency Ensures that Drugs are Safe and Effective (2/2002) [HTML] or [PDF]. Spanish version: [HTML] or [PDF]
* FDA Ensures Equivalence of Generic Drugs. PDF document From the 1999 edition of "From Test Tube to Patient: Improving health through human drugs."
* Generic Drugs: Safe. Effective. FDA Approved. Public service announcements promoting the safety and effectiveness of generic drugs.
o Six Public Service Announcements
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)