US survey shows health insurers change Rx medications to save money, overruling doctors' orders

Up to 70% of prescription medicines scripts are changed by health insurers, denying patients the drugs their doctors prescribe, according to a survey by the Global Healthy Living Foundation, www.ghlf.org, a non-profit patient advocacy group.

According to GHLF executive director, Louis Tharp: "This disturbing finding is not a simple case of switching a brand-name drug for a generic one, a common and generally accepted practice used for many illnesses, and one GHLF supports. We found that health insurance companies throughout the USA switch one brand-name drug for another simply because the switched drug is cheaper."

Mr Tharp added: "If the drugs are identical, physicians generally have no objection, the survey found, but national medical groups have said most drugs are not identical, and switching can cause adverse reactions and poor recovery rates."