Some people, including way too many politicians, want to punish prescription drug manufacturers for their allegedly obscene profits. Yet there's an easier and better way to pass judgment on the relative value of prescription versus generic drugs than having politicians grandstand: Give people financial incentives and let them decide the value for price trade-off.

Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield is out with a report on prescription patterns in New York State. The use of generic drugs is up across the state--especially when there's an obvious financial incentive.

"Generic fill rates vary by region, with the highest rates found in the Western New York and Finger Lakes regions, where three-tier prescription drug benefit designs are more common. Three-tier benefit designs give consumers a choice between using low-cost generics and more expensive brand-name drugs."

If you've got an HRA or an HSA, of course, you're going to be facing the same calculation as you would with co-pays on drugs under a traditional insurance plan or HMO. But the need and benefit of determining value, not just passively accepting whatever treatment happens to be available, is more obvious.