[jrockway]

Why can't she take the generic drug?

Also, $180/month is not really what people mean by "high healthcare costs". They mean something like a $50,000/day hospital stay. $180 is a lot if you don't have a lot of money, but it's hardly backbreaking.

[rsheridan6]

The generic drug he's talking about was never approved in the US. It's not available here. You can get it in other countries.

[saturdaysaint]

Indeed, and there's been much discussion that the chemistry that makes Lunesta patentable is trivial, basically a patent for its own sake.

"a single isomer drug rarely offers a therapeutic advantage over the mixture of isomers from which it is derived. However, the single isomer is patentable distinct from its multiple-isomer origin. Thus, the drug company can get a monopoly."

http://insomnia-relief.com/information/?p=49