[cheald]

> For example, amazingly short-sighted insistence on paying for a "generic" medication $3/mo cheaper than the drug already working is an every day challenge.

Pardon my ignorance, but aren't generics chemically-identical compounds that simply don't carry the brand name? My "generic replacement for Norco" is still acetaminophen and hydrocodone. Indeed, the Wikipedia article on generics notes that "A generic drug must contain the same active ingredients as the original formulation", and that it must be "comparable in dosage form, strength, quality and performance characteristics, and intended use".

What am I missing that makes generics a problem?