Aetna, Wellpoint and other insurance companies are offering free generic drugs and are waiving copays for members. Other insurers, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, are "stepping up direct-mail marketing of generics to consumers to combat direct-to-consumer ad spending on television and magazine ads by brand-name manufacturers. Aetna is paying to install vending machines in medical offices that allow doctors to dispense up to 30 days of free generic drugs. The machines track what drugs have been dispensed and send an alert when they need to be refilled.

The campaigns by insurers come during a year in which brand-name drugs representing an estimated $20 billion in sales are losing patent protection. The brand-name drug industry spends billions marketing drugs to doctors and the general public, and health insurers are now "fighting back" by promoting generic drugs.