Over 80% of Americans would buy generic Rx drug more often than branded product

Americans favor generic prescription drugs over brand name products by a considerable margin, according to new research. Some 81% of those who buy prescription drugs say they would purchase generics more often than brand name drugs.

A new Harris Poll finds that a 42% subset goes so far as to assert that they would "always" choose to buy a generic drug. Older generations are especially likely to indicate that they would always go with generics (50% Matures, 44% Baby Boomers, and 46% Gen X versus 33% Millennials).

Meanwhile, this means that only 19% of those who purchase prescription drugs would more often choose to fill their script with the brand name drug, and a mere 6% would "always" choose brand names. It is worth noting, however, that though majorities of adults both with and without children in their households favor generics, the minority preference for brand names is stronger among those with children in the household (24% with vs. 17% without).